


Standing Alone

by Callisto_HK



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Case Fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:31:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7858213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callisto_HK/pseuds/Callisto_HK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where's everybody when Tony needs help? And just who's out there trying to take him out? Gibbs is at a loss about what to do and like he doesn't have a hard enough time fixing things with his SFA, he has to face some inner demons, as well and that might just be the end of Tony! /Set in season 10. Rated T for Language!/ Case-fic!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

What woke him up wasn't a gentle touch on his cheek by a beautiful woman lying beside him. It wasn't the shrieking ring of a phone, either. It wasn't even the annoying sound of his alarm clock, which he hadn't used for years.

No; it was nothing nice and it was nothing annoying.

It was just something very _very_ painful.

The pain was coming from his chest and his stomach and he absently wondered if he was having a heart attack or something. But he'd never had a heart attack before, so how was he supposed to tell?

Except, he _could_ tell.

He could tell, because although he, thankfully, had never had a heart attack before, he'd been stabbed so many times that he couldn't even remember every single one of them anymore. And the pain he was experiencing was that of a stab wound.

_Stab wound?_

_Holy Sh-_

His eyes flew open and he looked around, realizing that he was lying on the ground; he wasn't sure where that place was exactly, but the ground beneath him was hard and cold and there were so many trees around him.

Oh, and his hands and his face hurt, too. But he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't tried to move his hand to his chest and hadn't grimaced with the escalation of pain.

Finally, ignoring the other painful spots, he touched his chest and the wetness on his fingers told him all he needed to know and with that confirmation came the memory of what had happened.

.

He'd just stepped out of his car to go to his apartment when he heard footsteps behind him.

Having great instincts and being well-experienced had helped him to spin around and dodge in time to avoid the blow to the head which was clearly meant to render him unconscious.

He'd tried to reach for his gun, but one of the two thugs had been too close and had grabbed his arm. With his free arm, the agent threw a punch towards the other guy and simultaneously used his head to hit the man who'd grabbed him, in the nose.

Both men momentary let go of him, but what Tony hadn't noticed was the clenched fist of thug number 2 that was coming his way. He staggered back at the blow to his face and had to blink a few times to regain his focus.

With throbbing pain in his cheek, he struggled to get the upper hand, but it was two against one. No, it was _three_ against one, because Tony could take care of two men and he'd almost been the winner of the fight until the third guy appeared behind him, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Before Tony could react, the man, very coldly, dug a knife into his chest, pulled it out and once again dug it into his stomach.

"It's a pleasure meeting you again, Agent DiNozzo. Aron Simmons says _'Hi'_." Said the man with a sickening smirk as he stabbed him another time.

By then, Tony had a hard time keeping his mind alert enough to get what was happening around him and remaining on his feet seemed to be even harder; he would've definitely ended up on the ground if the other two thugs didn't have him restrained by his arms.

"Get him to the car and drive out of the city, then throw him out of the car. Leave his belongings with him; just make sure his blood won't stain the car." The guy who seemed to be the one in charge ordered before turning on his heel and walking away.

As hard and painful as it was, Tony tried one last time to get free; he stamped his foot on something that he suspected to be someone else's foot and the muffled yell that left the mouth of the guy holding him gave him some satisfaction; it didn't last long, though, because next thing he knew, he was hit in the head with something hard and a few seconds later he went limp.

.

Now... Now he had to find a way back to the civilization or he'd bleed to death in the damn woods.

Remembering that they hadn't taken away his belongings, he feebly searched for his phone and almost cried with joy when he found it.

Both his body and mind were numb from the cold weather, pain and blood loss and his brain was working on autopilot; so, he didn't know whose number he'd dialed until the phone rang and rang and he got no answer and finally he looked at the screen to notice that he'd called Gibbs.

 _'What the hell? Why was Gibbs_ not _answering his phone? What if they had gotten Gibbs, too?'_ Those were the thoughts that rushed through his head; panic rose inside him and the phone fell from his shaky hand.

If it wasn't for the fact that he'd dealt with worse situations, he would've hyperventilated and passed out right then and there, but soon, he got a grip on his emotions and grabbed his phone again; this time he was fueled by adrenaline and concern for his boss, so when he called the next person on his list, he knew who he was calling.

Ziva's sleepy voice came from the other end of the line. "I swear to God, Tony, if this is not about a very important case, then I will kill you in a very painful way."

Tony frowned with confusion; sounding weak and tired, he said, "Case? No. No Case, Ziva. But listen-"

But the line had gone dead the moment he'd said ' _no case'_.

"Dammit, David." Tony cursed angrily and dialed McGee's number.

Again, the phone rang a few times and Tony was giving up when Tim finally answered. From the noises in the background, Tony could tell that Tim wasn't at home and he just remembered that he was going to go to a new club of Abby's choice with her because Tim had lost a bet.

"In case you've forgotten, we're no on call tonight." Tim shouted in the phone. "Go find someone else to pester, Tony."

And again another line went dead.

Tony's energy was draining fast and he'd run out of options. What was he supposed to do? Who was he supposed to call? He couldn't call Abby because when she was in party mood, she'd never hear her phone; besides, she'd panic if she heard about Gibbs and Tony couldn't deal with that, especially since he didn't know whether McGee was anywhere close to her or not. Ducky was out of question, too; the old ME had gone to Baltimore to help a friend and Tony didn't know if he was back yet or not.

Dialing Gibbs' number one last time, he, again, didn't get an answer; it wasn't like the last time, though. This time after a couple of rings the busy signal filled Tony's ear, indicating that his call had been declined.

He was totally confused, but he didn't know what to do and he'd almost given up altogether when one last thought came to his mind and he cursed himself out loud for not thinking about that option sooner. He was a law enforcement officer, for crying out loud; that was supposed to be anyone's first thought, let alone an officer of the law!

Dialing _911_ , he thanked God that at least that line wasn't busy; he really wasn't sure how much longer he could stay awake.

When his call was answered, Tony immediately introduced himself and asked for a patrol car to be sent to Gibbs' address, telling them that the older agent was probably hurt.

He'd totally forgotten about his own situation and if the operator hadn't asked about _his_ well-being, Tony would've ended the call without saying anything.

"Me?"

"Yes, Sir. You don't sound good. Where are you? Are you hurt?"

Tony had to think about it for a couple of seconds. Why hadn't he told the operator about himself? _Hmm, that sounded stupid._

"Sir, are you still there?"

"I'm... I'm not sure where I am."

"It's OK. Stay on the line. We'll send an ambulance your way."

"OK." He said automatically and thought that now that he'd sent someone Gibbs' way and someone was coming for him, he didn't have to worry anymore. So he let the phone slide from his blood-covered fingers as his consciousness slipped away.

...

Gibbs was in his basement, sanding a piece of wood for the chair he was making, when the first call came. Grabbing his phone, he saw Tony's name and decided not to answer it, so he dropped the ringing item on the table; after all, they weren't on call and he had a lot on his mind. If the case was urgent, Tony would show up and tell him in person; if not, the Senior Field Agent would get the message and take charge until Gibbs was ready again to show up at work.

When some minutes later the phone rang again with Tony's name on the screen, he cursed and threw it against the wall. _Why couldn't DiNozzo leave him alone?_

Ten minutes after that, when there was a knock on the door and then some people walked inside his house, calling his name, Gibbs started to question his earlier action. Maybe it'd been an urgent case and Tony couldn't waste time to come and get him.

Frowning with confusion and frustration, he grabbed his gun and quietly ascended the stairs.

"Agent Gibbs." Someone called out. "This is officer Karmer. Can you hear us, Sir?"

 _Officer?_ What were cops doing in his house at that hour? Had Tony sent them to get him?

Still, Gibbs didn't trust the call and stepped in the kitchen, gun raised. "Show me some IDs."

The two officers spun around and aimed their weapons at him. "Whoa. Whoa. Easy. We're cops."

Gibbs eyed their badges and lowered his gun. "What the hell are you doing here at this hour?"

"Umm, we were told you might need help, Sir. We were ordered to look for you here." Said One of the officers.

"Ordered by whom?" Gibbs growled.

"By... Umm, by an Agent DiNozzo, Sir." He replied after checking his notes. "Do you know him?"

 _'DiNozzo?'_ Gibbs frowned and suddenly regretted not answering his phone. _What the hell was going on?_ "Yes. Where is he? And why would he send you here?"

"We don't know the answers to those questions, Sir. We were just dispatched to this place; so we came."

Gibbs cursed under his breath. "Find out." He ordered tersely. "And stop calling me _Sir_."

The two officers exchanged a look and decided to obey. One grabbed his radio and started to ask questions.

The answers that came through the radio shocked Gibbs beyond what he liked to admit. The operator informed them that the call from Agent DiNozzo had come from somewhere out of town and that they'd lost the connection with him, but an ambulance and a patrol car were on their ways to his location.

Gibbs was lost. What had happened? Why would Tony think he was hurt? That made no sense. Unless... Unless Tony was hurt himself, and he'd been calling Gibbs to ask for help and his boss being the bastard he was, had ignored the calls. Tony must've thought about Gibbs' rule number three and probably had thought that since Gibbs was unreachable, he must've been hurt, too. Just like _he_ had been.

 _Damn_.

It all made sense now.

Gibbs' gut churned; he wanted to punch a wall or slap himself over the head so hard to feel the pain for ages.

Why in the hell had he not answered Tony's call? He _knew_ Tony would never call for no reason.

He'd let Tony down and nobody knew how much time the younger man had wasted trying to find him and worrying about him. He'd been a bastard while Tony had put him first; because clearly the younger agent had called 911 and _first_ had sent some cops _his_ way to make sure Gibbs was alright; because if he'd asked for help for himself instead of telling them about his boss, they would know what was wrong with him and what had happened.

Rubbing his face, Gibbs sent the two cops their way and told them to make sure Tony would be sent to Bethesda as he grabbed his car keys and went that way to wait for his agent at the hospital.

He was really mad at himself for letting Tony down. He'd screwed up big time and Tony might be paying the price for it. Gibbs could never forgive himself if Tony didn't make it because he hadn't been able to get Gibbs on the line to ask for help or because he'd put the older agent first and had sent help his way instead of thinking about his own well-being.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	2. Chapter 2

The waiting in the hospital took way longer than Gibbs could normally stand.

He'd used the hospital's phone to call Tony's number a couple of times just to see if the whole thing was a huge mistake, but getting no answer had proved it otherwise. After that he debated whether or not he should call Ducky or someone else, but he really wasn't the type to get on the phone and inform the whole team of what was happening at any particular moment. That was why Gibbs ended up pacing up and down, _very impatiently_ , in front of the ER entrance.

He'd raced towards two ambulances that had pulled over, only to find them bringing in patients who weren't his agent. So, when the third ambulance pulled over, 25 minutes after his arrival to the hospital, he only walked to it and waited to see if it was DiNozzo in there.

To his dismay, it _was_ DiNozzo and it happened to be the one ambulance with paramedics jumping out of it and yelling for help and running inside.

Gibbs hadn't even had enough time to take a good look at Tony and what he'd seen hadn't been pretty. Tony's shirt was torn open; pressure dressings were attached to his chest and abdomen and it seemed like everything, from his clothes to his whole upper body, and even to the paramedics' clothes and hands, were covered in his blood.

Rushing inside, he looked around to find someone to demand some answer, but anyone who could tell him anything was busy in the trauma room, trying to stabilize Tony's condition, and he didn't want to keep them from helping the younger man. He'd already stalled it by not answering those damn phone calls.

He'd been standing back, trying to see as much as he could and understand what was being said about his agent when someone patted his shoulder. Turning around, he was annoyed to find two strangers standing behind him.

"Excuse me, Sir, but the nurse over there said we should talk to you about Agent DiNozzo."

Gibbs frowned.

"We got to him, first." One of them said politely. "I'm Detective Miles and this is my partner, Detective Jordan."

"Where was he?" Gibbs didn't care who they were and didn't even bother to memorize their names.

"We found him in the woods on the side of the Explorer road. It seemed like he'd been thrown out of a moving car. That part of the road is pretty deserted, especially at this hour, so nobody would've noticed anything if he hadn't made that call to 911."

Gibbs winced inwardly, but nodded for them to go on.

"The scene is secure and our people are already bagging and tagging everything they might find. Although we doubt we'd find anything useful there. His clothes are probably the best thing we got at the moment."

"Was he conscious when you found him?"

"No, Sir. He was out of it and at first we thought we've arrived to find a dead body." Detective Jordan informed and suddenly realized her mistake and bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. It came out wrong."

A haunted expression crossed Gibbs' face and he was barely able to hide the shiver that ran through his body at the image of Tony's lifeless body. "What else?"

"We found out that he's received three stab wounds and has lots of bruises and bumps. We can't tell you more about his injuries, that's the doctors' job. But it was clear that he'd been in a fight. Signs of self-defense were already forming on his knuckles."

"I want all the evidence, _everything_ , sent to the NCIS' lab. We take it from here."

"Yes, Sir." They accepted readily; after all, the injured man was an NCIS agent, they couldn't fight over jurisdiction.

"Don't call me _Sir_." Gibbs growled and turned around to once again look at Tony but found the curtains pulled closed. "Hey, Detective." He called out and the cops who were leaving turned around.

"Where are his belongings?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." The woman said as she pulled out an evidence bag from under her overcoat. "Here. His badge, wallet, phone, service weapon, his backup and two knives. All in there." She sounded amused.

Not paying any more attention to the cops as they left, Gibbs opened the bag and pulled Tony's phone out, knowing that the chances of finding any useful fingerprints on Tony's phone were slim.

His first call was to Ziva. He needed his team to go to Tony's apartment and see if the attack had happened there. But the call was declined after three rings. Gibbs frowned and called McGee; after five rings, the junior agent finally answered. "Seriously, Tony. If you call me one more time, I'll hack your system. Don't say I didn't warn you." And just like that the line went dead.

Gibbs' frown deepened and a disturbing thought came into his head. Following his gut feeling, he went through the phone's call history and as he saw the numbers Tony had called in the last two hours, his fury skyrocketed.

The last one had been to 911, which had been a couple of minutes after the call to his cell phone; the _second_ call that he'd ignored. But before that, Tony had called both Tim and Ziva and based on the reactions that he'd just got from them, Tony hadn't been successful in telling them about his situation.

_Damn. Damn. Damn._

Gibbs almost flung the phone against the wall, stopping only when he remembered that it was Tony's phone, not _his_ and that he needed it if he wanted to get anything done that night.

That didn't mean he wasn't still mad as hell, at himself _and_ at his agents. They all had let Tony down. The rule about not being unreachable had been ignored by all of them and it had cost Tony greatly. The younger man had counted on them and before calling 911, had called his _team_ , only to have them turn their backs on him. Tony must be really disappointed in them. He knew _he_ would be if he were in Tony's shoes.

Finally, grabbing the phone from the nurse' station, he once again called Ziva's number.

"Ziva David." Said a drowsy voice from the other end.

"You hang up on anyone who calls you or decline the call, one more time, Agent David and you consider yourself off my team." Gibbs growled angrily into the phone.

Ziva's voice when she spoke next was totally the opposite of how she'd sounded at first. This time, she was completely alert and awake. "Ah. Gibbs. I am Sorry. I was sleeping. But I am sure I did not receive any call from you tonight. I would never hang up on you."

"But you would on Tony?" Gibbs barked.

"Shhh." The nurse glared at him and Gibbs took a breath to calm himself down. "Call McGee and get your asses to Tony's place and see if you can find any sign of a struggle there." He added when he felt calm enough not to yell.

"Why?" She sounded confused.

Taking another deep breath _,_ Gibbs forced out, "he'd been attacked and is now in the hospital. _Of course_ , you would've known that if you'd bothered to answer his call. Have Abby call Tony's phone." With that he slammed the receiver back into the cradle and strode away before the nurse could scold him for being so loud and rude.

Two minutes later Tony's phone started to ring with Abby's name on the screen.

"Gibbs? Gibbs. What's going on? O my God. Ziva just called me and said Tony's been attacked. Is he alright? Tim just left here to go to Tony's place. But I need to know, Gibbs. Please tell me he's alright."

"No, Abby. He's not alright." He was so disappointed in himself and his team that he didn't even try to sugarcoat things for Abby. "Get to your lab. There will be some evidence for you to go through. I want the bastard who did this; two hours ago!" And again he cut the line. This time, because he saw a doctor leaving the trauma room that Tony was in.

"You here for Agent DiNozzo?" The old man asked.

Gibbs nodded. "How's he?"

"Not good." The doctor said. "But he's finally stable. They're preparing him for the OR now and Doctor Spenser will operate on him."

"Can you tell me anything about his condition?" Gibbs' feature was impassive, but he felt huge inner turmoil as he stood there and listened to the doctor.

"He's sustained three stab wounds; two to the lower abdomen and one to the chest. The one to the chest's missed all the vital organs. But one of the stab wounds to his abdomen seems to have nicked his small intestine and the other one has penetrated his spleen. I can't say anything for sure at this moment, but they might be forced to remove a part of his spleen."

Gibbs closed his eyes briefly.

"The ulna of his left forearm is broken in two places and the shoulder on the same side is dislocated. He also has a moderate concussion. Other than that, there are contusions and bruises that should heal with no problem. He's lost a lot of blood, but we've already started to replace that."

Right then the curtain opened and a nurse walked to them. "Dr. Patch, the patient is awake and is agitated. We can't calm him down. Do you want us to sedate him?"

"No. No." The man shook his head vehemently.

"He seems to think that someone called _'Gibbs'_ needs help." The nurse said desperately and those words cut Gibbs to the bone.

 _'Dammit, DiNozzo. Stop worrying about everyone else, for once.'_ He thought ruefully and then said, "I'm Gibbs. Let me talk to him."

The doctor nodded and led him to Tony's bed.

Gibbs tried not to stare at Tony's prone form with shock and kept his eyes away from his battered body and the bruises on his face. He just put his right hand gently on Tony's forehead and bent down to look Tony in the eyes.

"Hey... _Hey!_ " He called when Tony kept struggling weakly. " _DiNozzo_. It's me. Calm down. I'm _fine_."

Tony's eyes finally stopped on Gibbs' face and he looked alert enough. "Gi-... Gibbs?"

"Yes. Calm down and let them do their job, DiNozzo."

"You al'... alright?" He panted heavily.

Gibbs almost cringed. "I am." He confirmed quietly.

"But..." Tony looked confused. "I called... You didn't-" the look of hurt that crossed his face next had nothing to do with the physical pain and sadly Gibbs knew it, too; but before he could say anything back, Tony's eyes closed and his head rolled to the other side.

And then he was once again unconscious.

Gibbs leaned forward and whispered something in Tony's ear, before stepping back. He, of course, would repeat his apology and the promise to make it up to him, later when Tony was conscious to hear him; but for now, he had to say those words, hoping that the unconscious man could somehow sense his true feelings.

He took one last look at Tony before sighing heavily and leaving the place.

On his way to the Navy Yard, he called Ducky and told him to get to the hospital to wait for some news about Tony.

He'd totally forgotten that the older man had gone to Baltimore the previous day and just got lucky that the old ME was actually back and was getting ready to go to bed.

Ducky assured him that he'd be there for the younger agent so Gibbs could start looking for answers and Gibbs was grateful for that, because he really needed to get to the office and start working on what they had. He'd let Tony down once that night. He wouldn't repeat it by letting his attackers go free, too. He just hoped that Tony would forgive him for his earlier mistake.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Gibbs got to the Navy Yard, Abby was in her lab, waiting for him. Walking into the lab, he silently handed her the bags with Tony's belongings in it.

Looking at the blood-covered shirt and stuff, Abby paused for a moment; then she looked up and quietly said, "Gibbs?" That simple word had so many questions behind it. ' _What'd happened? How was Tony? Who would do this? Would Tony be OK? Why Tony?'_

Gibbs shook his head and just hugged her. He didn't have any answers yet, but he was determined to find some as quickly as possible.

"Abby?" He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Were you there when DiNozzo called McGee?"

"Umm... We... We were having a drink, I think." She said a bit uncertainly and it seemed like she wasn't exactly sober.

"Did they talk? And... Are you drunk?" Gibbs frowned, looking down at the evidence bags in Abby's hands and for a moment he doubted his decision about calling Abby in.

"No! I'm alright. I can concentrate. This is about Tony; I can work. I promise, Gibbs, I'm good; I wouldn't do anything to risk this one; not that I'd risk any other case, but especially not this one;" she paused. "Um, what did you ask before that? Not that I forgot because I'm drunk. I swear, I'm not; We haven't even really started partying when we heard the news; it's just that I'm worried and stressed and I-"

"Did they talk?" Gibbs interrupted her with repeating his question.

"Oh, Tony and McGee, you mean? I don't know. McGee answered the phone and started talking; I could only hear a few words and that was it."

"And you did nothing when he hung up on Tony?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

Abby opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and thought. The realization suddenly hit her so hard that she gasped. "O my God." She looked absolutely petrified. "He's... He was... O my God, Gibbs. He'd called to ask for help, hadn't he? And Tim hung up on him. O my God. McGee said Tony was just trying to annoy him and I believed him... O God, Gibbs. What have we done?" She sank into her chair and tears welled up in her eyes.

Gibbs shook his head. He couldn't blame Abby; she had no reason not to believe McGee, but how _all_ of them had manged to screw up on a time that mattered the most was beyond him. "You didn't know, Abby. Get to work. We need answers."

"But, Tony-"

"We owe him to find out who's behind this, Abby." He said firmly and that did the trick. Abby jumped to her feet and got to work. Not saying another word as she focused on the evidence. She was mad at herself, but mostly she was disappointed in McGee; why had he said those things about the phone call? Had he even let Tony talk before hanging up on him? How could they look Tony in the eyes again? How could they apologize for not having his back?

She shivered and shook her head fiercely to be able to focus on her work. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts now. She had to wait and berate herself, _and everyone else, for that matter,_ later. She also had to make Tony see that she wouldn't have done what Tim had if she'd received his call. But those things were for later. First, they had to find answers to help Tony.

.

Walking back to the bullpen, Gibbs realized that he didn't have anything to work on, so he went to Tony's desk to see what cases the younger man was currently goring through, thinking that maybe it was a cold case and Tony'd found something in it that had put him in danger.

An hour later, Ziva and McGee walked into the bullpen, looking haggard and disheveled, and went straight to Gibbs' desk.

"Report."

"Tony's apartment was clean. We don't think he's even entered it tonight." McGee started. "Actually, we're sure he hasn't. We found his backpack on the sidewalk."

"And it seemed like a fight has happened in front of his building. We found blood on the ground." Ziva continued.

"And?"

"That is all." Ziva shook her head.

"We searched the whole area. Bagged and tagged everything that looked out of place and gave them to Abby, but other than the blood and maybe some tire tracks, we found nothing." McGee sighed. "Boss, how's Tony? What's happened?"

Ziva looked just as worried when McGee asked the question.

"You mind explaining to me why both of you ignored rule number three and turned down the call from your s _uperior_ agent?" Gibbs asked instead of answering McGee's question, not saying anything about how he, himself, had done the same thing.

Both junior agents had the grace to look ashamed. "It was Tony." Ziva finally said curtly, like it'd be enough of an explanation.

Gibbs bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We weren't on call, Boss. We thought it was a prank or something."

"Did either of you bother to ask him why he was calling you at that hour? Has he ever done something like that before?" He was in their faces, just barely controlling himself from tearing them apart; he might've not helped Tony himself, but at least he hadn't picked up the phone to hang up without asking what was going on. Not that what he'd done was any better in his book, but to answer the phone and hanging up only because they'd _assumed_ Tony was messing with them was too much.

They both shook their head quietly.

"Then why in the hell didn't you think that something might've happened? You just assumed and went with it? So you broke rule 3 _and_ 8?" He raised his voice. "While you were down with Abby, did you see the evidence there? Did you see his phone? It was covered in blood. You know what that means?"

And they both did; Tony had called them to ask for help and they'd ignored him.

"Why did he not call 911, first?" Ziva dared to ask.

Gibbs' eyes went cold and his voice was sad when he spoke next. "Because he's clearly had too much faith in us; thinking we'd have his back."

McGee felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Tony's default reaction had been counting on _them_. He'd thought of them so highly that calling 911 hadn't even come to his mind. _And what had they done?_ He felt he was going to be sick.

"Us?" Ziva caught on that part instead of paying attention to anything else that Gibbs had said. "That means you have ignored his call, too?"

Gibbs turned his back on them and went to his chair.

"You did not answer his call, no?" Ziva asked again. She was mad at herself for hanging up on Tony, but right now she was angrier with Gibbs. The man was reprimanding them for doing something that he'd done as well.

"I didn't answer the phone and just because I did the same mistake, doesn't make the things I said any less true." Gibbs' voice was so weary and remorseful that Ziva's anger almost evaporated.

"No. But why did you not answer his call?" Ziva had to know.

Gibbs almost growled something like _'it's none of your business'_ , but then decided to answer honestly; if only to let them know that his action hadn't been due to not thinking highly of his agent or because he didn't take Tony seriously. "Thought it was an urgent case; knew DiNozzo could handle it alone."

"How's he, Boss?"

"So who did help him at last?"

Ziva and McGee asked simultaneously.

"He's finally called 911." Gibbs answered Ziva's question first and then looked at Tim to answer his question. "We don't know yet. Concussion, multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, broken arm and dislocated shoulder. He was thrown out of a moving vehicle."

The junior agents' eyes were wide with shock and fear for their teammate.

Realizing that he still didn't have anything to work on, Gibbs stood up and walked to the elevator. He could at least be there in the hospital and ask Tony if he knew anything when he was out of the surgery.

"Call my second phone if you got anything." He called over his shoulder before stepping into the elevator.

"What are we supposed to work on now?" Ziva asked Tim when they were alone.

Tim shrugged and went to his desk, his eyes fixed on Tony's empty desk. "What if-"

"Tony is going to be fine, McGee." Ziva said firmly.

"We don't know that." he retorted bitterly.

"Yes, I do. And if you want to just sit there and mop, then go do it somewhere else."

"Mope." McGee growled testily and then sighed. He knew that Ziva's default reaction was probably anger and he knew she was as upset about failing Tony as he was. "What do you suggest we do? We don't have anything?"

"We could always look at Tony's old cases; see if any of his enemies is out of prison. People he has arrested; their families or friends looking for revenge." She shrugged.

Tim's eyes went wide. "Do you have _any_ idea how many years Tony's been in law enforcement?"

"I cannot recall. Why?" She frowned.

"At least 18 years, Ziva." McGee acclaimed. "And you want us to go through _all_ his old cases? The whole Navy Yard should abandon what they're doing and help us with it if we're going to find anything in those files when it still matters."

"Do you have a better suggestion, McGee?" She asked, sounding exasperated. "Do you really prefer sitting there, thinking about how Tony could die because of our mistake?"

"DiNozzo could die?" Another voice asked and they both jumped slightly and looked up to find Director Vance coming down the stairs. "What is going on here? Your team is not on call tonight and tomorrow."

They both rose to their feet.

"Umm, Sir. What are you still doing here?" McGee asked bewildered.

"That's none of your business, Agent McGee. Answer the question." Vance ordered.

"Sorry, Sir. Yes, Sir. Umm. Agent DiNozzo... Tony was attacked on his way back home, tonight. He's in the hospital now."

Vance frowned. "What do we know about the attack? Has he been able to talk?"

"We know nothing." Ziva replied. "And we do not know if he has been awake. Gibbs did not stay long enough for us to ask more questions."

"Where's he, now?"

"Gibbs? Umm, I guess he went back to the hospital." McGee shrugged.

"And what mistake were you two talking about?" asked the director.

Both agents looked down and swallowed; they'd hoped the Director had missed that part of their conversation.

"I asked you a question." He said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"Tony called us for help but we did not answer his calls. No, we did, but we hung up before he could say anything." Ziva finally provided.

Vance looked at them with shock. "And why is that, Special Agent David?"

"We were not on call. So we did not take it seriously." She looked up and it was clear that she was ashamed of her own answer, even though she sounded a bit defiant.

Shaking his head with disappointment, Vance studied them both. "I hope your mistake doesn't cost your teammate his life. And let's not mention what ignoring a call from your superior would mean to your career." He added with a low tone. "I want updates on both Agent DiNozzo's condition and this case. No one will get away with hurting one of my agents." With that he walked away and once again left the two ashamed junior agents alone.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	4. Chapter 4

That night turned out to be one of the longest nights of Gibbs' life. He had nothing to work on; he was angry and ashamed and he was worried as hell; but the only things he was showing on the outside were anger and impatience, and even that was confined to growls and glares, because how else could he release his anger in a hospital room?

Tony's surgery took longer than even Ducky was comfortable with and nobody bothered giving them an update until the operation was over.

Finally, after hours of having nothing to do but wait, Gibbs saw a doctor, who he assumed was Doctor Spenser, coming towards them to inform them about Tony's condition .

True to their first estimation, the stab wound to Tony's chest hadn't done much damage. But the two to his abdomen were bad. Doctor Spenser told them that they had been left with no other option but to perform partial splenectomy - _that is removal of a small portion of spleen, he'd explained later_ \- which with Tony's immune system already a bit affected by the plague, wasn't good news for the younger agent. The other stab wound had been easier to treat, but Tony still had to be careful for a while since it'd indeed nicked his small intestine.

The fractures to his forearm and the dislocated shoulder had been successfully repaired and set in the operating room.

So far, it seemed like Tony was going to be just fine, but that didn't mean his first night in the hospital had been uneventful.

Gibbs had spent the night in the ICU room with him and had witnessed how serious his condition was as the younger man was in too much pain to be able to concentrate on Gibbs or his questions and his body fought a high fever. It'd been around seven in the morning when his fever finally started to reduce, letting the younger agent to fall into a fitful sleep.

Gibbs left his side long enough to get a cup of coffee and then called Ducky to give him an update; he'd sent the old ME home earlier that night since two visitors couldn't stay at the same time in the ICU room.

An hour or so later, his phone started to vibrate and he once again walked outside Tony's room to answer it.

"Tell me you've got something, Abs." He couldn't help sounding a little hopeful.

The silence on the other end wasn't what he expected to receive and for a moment he feared that something had happened to Abby, too. And then the train of dreadful thoughts invaded his brain. _'What if this was another 'Ari'? What if the whole team was once again targeted? What if Abby had been hurt, too?'_

The only consolation was that everyone had spent the night in the Navy Yard.

"Abby?"

"I don't have anything. You said ' _tell me you've got something_ ' and I don't have anything." She sounded broken, but despite the lack of good news, Gibbs felt relieved. At least she was fine.

"Gibbs, there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not on his clothes, or his stuff or the other evidence. And Ducky told me Tony's still unconscious and he's hurt again and now he's lost part of his spleen as well, like it wasn't bad enough that his lungs were scarred and then there's Director Vance who's found out about Tim and Ziva not answering their phones when Tony'd called them and Tim told me he'd been really mad at them and-"

"Abby." Gibbs finally cut her off, feeling the room spinning around his head. _Vance knew?_ _And only about Ziva and McGee?_ Damn, he'd probably add it to their personnel files. Not that he was against it, because they'd made a huge mistake and had to pay for it. But now he had to tell the Director about his part in this mess, as well. Because he couldn't deny that he'd been at fault just as much. If not more. Because let's face it, if he'd answered Tony's call the first time around, the younger man wouldn't have felt the need to call everyone else only to be turned down. And the younger man wouldn't have to suffer longer than necessary and worry about him on top of it.

"Gibbs, can you tell me that he's going to be fine now?" She pleaded.

"He's going to be just fine, Abby." Gibbs reassured. _'Physically, at least.'_ He added silently.

.

Awareness came before consciousness. And the first thing he became aware of was the pain in his side and then the throbbing arm and head. Finally, he became aware of the fact that he was in a hospital room and apparently alone, if the lack of sound in the room was anything to go by.

But then again, Gibbs could be there. The silence didn't mean the ex-marine couldn't be in the room with him.

But then a memory rushed through Tony's head and finally the events of the previous night came back to him. And clearer than anything else, he could remember that Gibbs hadn't answered his calls. Well, nobody had, but what hurt the most was Gibbs' lack of action. Because the older agent had once again gone against his own rule, and funny those things mostly happened when Tony was involved. Besides, he'd been worried to death by the lack of response from Gibbs and he could remember that when later in the ER he'd seen Gibbs, he couldn't believe that he'd been simply ignored.

Those things meant that the silence in the room probably was an indication of an empty room.

Finally his other senses started to wake up, too and he tiredly blinked his eyes opened and looked around the room.

Yes, it was empty. Just as he'd thought.

Later, he'd blame the drug in his system for the hurt feeling that'd washed over him over the other night's events and being alone in his hospital room; but at that moment, he didn't feel like thinking logically or like a grown-up. He was hurt and he wanted to cling to it because it felt good to acknowledge what he was actually feeling, for a change.

The wound was older than the latest incident, almost as old as he was. He'd always gotten the same thing from his father when he was a kid; his old man had never been there for him and while growing up, he'd promised himself not to rely on anyone like that again. Of course, he'd forgotten that promise when he'd become a cop and that had hurt him more than once. First it'd been his partner in Baltimore and later his team at NCIS. This last incident was just the tip of the iceberg. And probably the worst they'd done to him.

The look of hurt was still in Tony's eyes when Gibbs walked into the room after his talk with Abby.

Tony frowned and instantly put his mask on. There was no need for Gibbs to know how much he'd succeeded in hurting Tony.

"Hey." Tony croaked and visibly winced at the sound that left his mouth.

Stepping outside for a moment, Gibbs addressed a nurse. "Can I have a cup of ice chips?" And then he went back to the room and smiled slightly down at his agent. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I've swallowed a frog." Seriously, he did sound that bad.

Gibbs smirked. "Other than that?"

"Sore." Tony replied honestly which caught Gibbs by surprise.

Tony, unaware of Gibbs' shock over his frankness, frowned and tried to remember more about the other night's events and suddenly his eyes widened. "Shit." He pushed himself up and yelped when his stomach flared up with pain.

"Dammit, DiNozzo." Gibbs grabbed his good shoulder and held him down, watching as a nurse rushed inside, put the glass of ice chips on the night stand and injected something into Tony's IV.

A couple of minutes later, Tony's breathing calmed down and the low moaning, that he most definitely was unaware that he was producing, stopped.

"You better?" Gibbs asked when Tony started to relax under his hand.

The nod he got was his only answer as Tony tried to make a mental note not to move again for the next two weeks.

"What the hell were you thinking jumping up like that?" Gibbs growled as he helped Tony with some ice chips.

Moving the ice around in his mouth, Tony let it sooth his sore throat before he started to talk. "Don't know really. Wanted to get to work."

"Get to work?"

"Yeah," Tony shrugged and winced. "I know who did this to me."

Gibbs's eyes widened slightly. That had been what he'd wanted to ask Tony the whole night. "You saw him?"

"I saw three guys. But they were hired goons."

"How do you know that?"

"Because one of them told me that _'Aron Simmons'_ had said _'hi'_!" Tony looked Gibbs in the eyes and watched as his words sank in.

"That bastard." Gibbs blurted out.

.

.

"Umm, who's Aron Simmons, Boss?" McGee asked with confusion when later Gibbs strode into the bullpen and barked the name.

"I want that bastard here yesterday."

"Gibbs?" Vance called as he walked down the stairs. "Care to explain?"

Gibbs went to Tony's desk, opened one of the cabinets behind the desk and pulled out a case file from under some other files. Opening it, he dropped the case on the top of Tony's desk. "Aron Simmons." He pointed to the file. "He was the head of an arm dealing gang back when DiNozzo and I were a two man team. We sent Tony in and busted his ring, but the bastard got away and fled the country."

"And he's back now?" Vance asked as he studied the file.

"Seems so. He's the one who's hired those goons to attack DiNozzo."

"Tony told you that? He's awake?" McGee asked with hopeful eyes.

Gibbs ignored him and continued his tirade. "But even if he's not back in the country, I want him found and brought in."

"Why did they not kill Tony when they had the chance?" Ziva asked and when everyone's shocked eyes turned to her, she quickly corrected herself. "No. Not that I want him dead. I am just trying to understand what his plans are."

"He wants us to suffer." Gibbs growled.

"Who's with DiNozzo right now?" asked the Director.

"Ducky and another agent."

"Go back to the hospital." Vance ordered, knowing that no one like Gibbs could protect his SFA. "We'll let you know when we have something; there's nothing for you to do here."

"This won't be easy. The dirtbag has sent his goons, telling them to reveal his name and then let Tony live to mock us. He thinks he can get to Tony whenever he wants."

"And what do _you_ think?"

The silence that followed and the anguish in Gibbs' eyes spoke volume.

"He's that good?" That was actually a disturbing thought.

"I won't let him get to Tony. But you know DiNozzo, the moment he can move around, he won't sit tight."

"I doubt he'd sit tight even before that." Vance sighed. Gibbs had never been able to really bench his SFA. Sometimes the younger man was worse than Gibbs; he definitely was as pig-headed. "Go back to the hospital and take a laptop with you. He might be able to help you somehow."

Gibbs frowned. "You saying I need _his_ help to use a laptop?"

Vance rolled his eyes. "He might not be a computer genius, but I've come to the conclusion that he's not a novice and he's definitely better than you when it comes to technology." With that he grabbed Simmon's file and walked out of the bullpen. He'd meant it when he said no one would get away with hurting one of his agents.

They were going to bring that scumbag to justice and they'd do it before he could hurt anyone else; certainly before he could once again get his hands on Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs entered Tony's room and found him asleep. "Hey, Duck."

"Jethro." Ducky looked up from the book he was reading. "Have you found anything yet?"

"We will." He stated with total certainty.

"I'm sure you will." The older man nodded his head reassuringly. "I better go back and finish a few things now that you are here, though." He got up from his chair, eyeing his old friend as he studied the man in the bed; he could feel that there was a tension between the two agents.

He didn't know what was going on, but there was something akin to guilt in the Lead Agent's eyes whenever he looked at Tony and if it wasn't for the fact that Tony had become a bit tense when his boss' name had been mentioned earlier, Ducky would've thought that Gibbs was just blaming himself for Tony getting hurt. But well, he'd felt that strain and had decided that it was better to stay out of it and let them solve the problem on their own.

"Has he been awake, at all?" Gibbs asked before Ducky could leave.

"Not for long. He woke up some minutes ago; asked what was going on and I explained to him that you've assigned an agent to stay at the door and that he has no reason to worry." He paused. "Jethro, if I might ask, has anything occurred between you and Anthony?" Well, he could push a little, right?

Gibbs looked away from the ME's eyes and assessed the younger man in the bed.

"Ah, I see." The old ME sighed, quickly catching on the unsaid words. "Well, I suggest you fix your problems before they fester."

"He talk to you?" Gibbs asked morosely.

"Not with words. But with my age and experience, it is not hard to read the anguish in someone's eyes. I did let him know that he could talk to me if he felt the urge, but we both know that the young boy never talks about important things that hurt him. You need to mend the situation, Jethro and you might need to give him more than a glass of bourbon and a plate of steak, this time. Put your pride aside if you want to make amends." With that advice he left the room.

.

Gibbs was standing by the window, looking at the cloudy sky and sipping his coffee when Tony started to moan.

Turning back, he realized that the younger agent was still out of it, but sheen of perspiration had covered his face and he was clenching the sheets with his right hand. Walking to the bed, he pushed the PCA pump to release some pain med into Tony's vein and sure enough, a few moments later Tony's breathing calmed down and a few minutes after that he started to stir.

"Gibbs." Tony blinked tiredly when finally the blurry vision cleared. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you'll stay out of trouble." Gibbs smirked lopsidedly.

"Since when?"

"Since when what?" The older agent's smirk faded. Was Tony implying that he didn't care about his well-being? He might've made a few mistakes in the past regarding Tony's health or safety, but surely Tony didn't think he didn't care, right? Surely Tony still trusted him, didn't he?

"You do that personally." Tony explained.

 _'Oh'_ Gibbs almost sighed with relief. "Not trusting anyone else with that, this time."

Tony's eyes stayed on him and the flicker of doubt in them pulled at Gibbs' heart.

"I also..." Gibbs braced himself for using the 'S' word. "I need to apologize to you for last night." He knew that this time there was no way around apologizing; he owed it to Tony to show him that he was aware of the mistake he'd made and that he valued the younger man enough to admit it.

Tony was confused for a moment but then he remembered what Gibbs was talking about and averted his gaze to look at the ceiling, trying to hide the anger and disappointment that has suddenly started to bubble within him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"I know I screwed up, Tony, but before I explain anything, I need to know something; do you still trust me?" Gibbs had to know.

Tony finally looked back and studied his boss. He pondered for a few seconds and felt that there might be an explanation why Gibbs hadn't answered his calls; at least he hadn't done what his other teammates had. He just had been unreachable and that could happen to anyone. Heck, for all he knew, Gibbs could've left his phone somewhere and- But that didn't explain the declined phone call. "I was worried they might've hurt you, too." Tony stated wearily instead of answering the question he'd been asked.

Gibbs held Tony's gaze, but for fracture of a second, remorse and pain filled his eyes. "Yes. I got it when that two police officers ran into my house and started yelling." He said somberly. "I'm sorry for putting you through that." After the first apology, it didn't seem that hard to voice his heart feelings. "If I've answered your calls, help would've gotten to you sooner; you wouldn't have suffered so much." One would say it wasn't like Gibbs to admit to his mistake and apologize, let alone being so open about it; but Gibbs, despite being reserved and introvert, knew the right time to open up; besides, Ducky's words were still echoing in his ears; _he needed to put his pride aside if he wanted to fix things._

Tony sighed. He couldn't blame Gibbs for his suffering. With or without Gibbs, he was already injured. "I've already been stabbed. You couldn't have changed _that_."

"Maybe not; but you had to suffer longer because no one answered your calls. And on top of that, you worried yourself for me and you put me ahead." Gibbs took a deep breath. "Thank you." He added sincerely.

Tony raised his eyebrows, but said nothing; he was a little taken aback, it was the first time in many years that Gibbs was apologizing for doing something wrong and he'd just thanked him, too. Apocalypse must've started.

"DiNozzo, I don't say things like this, but over the years, the things you've done for me-" he tilted his head. "I can't repay you." He'd always said that whatever anyone of them had done for the others, would be merely counted as doing their jobs, but if he was honest with himself, he always knew sometimes it was way more than that and Tony had gone beyond and above a lot of time.

"Gibbs." Tony was getting uncomfortable. This wasn't about repay and Tony knew Gibbs knew it; so the reason why the older man was acting so uncharacteristically was lost to him. "That's what we do. We don't do it to be repaid later. What's this really about?"

"No... It's not about that, but you've never let me down. Never. But I can list the times that _I_ have done that. I sure did let you down, last night."

"Then why did you? Why did you ignore another of your own rules again?" He thought that now that Gibbs was willing to talk for a change, maybe he could actually get some answers.

Gibbs swallowed. "Thought you were calling about a case and would get the memo when I didn't answer the phone; knew you'd take charge."

Tony frowned. "You do realize that I don't call you unless it's urgent, right?"

"I _know_ that, but at that moment my mind was elsewhere. I was just angry that the Director might give us another case when he'd given us the day off and that I couldn't be left alone with my thoughts and memories for one single night and that cases never stop coming. We're not the only investigators out there."

"Alright, but why did you decline my call?" Tony asked wearily.

Gibbs' frown deepened. "What? I didn't do that. I just-"

"My second call." Tony clarified.

"I di-..." Gibbs suddenly remembered and closed his eyes. "Damn. I didn't decline it. I... I threw the phone against the wall."

Tony's eyebrows shot up as he tilted his head slowly to the side. "You hate it that much when I give you a call? Thought that was reserved for your ex-wives."

Gibbs had the courtesy to look a bit ashamed and it still was something strange on Gibbs' face. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?" Tony frowned; he was suddenly so very tired of this conversation. "You set rules and you ignore them. I need help; I call you and you ignore my call and then when I call again you break your phone to get rid of my calls. I don't think there could be many different explanations for that."

"It's not _you_ , DiNozzo." Gibbs sighed. "We weren't on call; I was tired and I would've done that anyway; no matter who was calling."

Well, it did sound like Gibbs. Tony bit his lower lip and studied the older man. Could he put this behind him? Could he move on? Well, he couldn't exactly forget how much he'd been hurt by the older man's action and how at that moment he didn't feel like trusting Gibbs unconditionally again; but to tell the truth, the fact that Gibbs hadn't done what he had due to _resentment_ towards _him_ , made him feel a little bit better.

"For what is it worth, I really am sorry. Whenever I break one of my own rules, I end up screwing big time."

"Well, you didn't know I needed help, I guess." Tony shrugged with his good shoulder. "Despite what you think, it's not hard to imagine you moody and angry."

The corner of Gibbs' mouth pulled as he shook his head in amusement. Only DiNozzo would dare saying something like that to him. Even after so many years, neither Ziva, nor McGee would be so blunt towards him.

"You still trust me, right?" He hated to think that his mistakes had finally broken Tony's trust in him. It was one of the things he was proud to have; because he knew Tony didn't trust people easily.

Tony was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer; but finally he came to the conclusion that despite everything, Gibbs had merely made a mistake, maybe a huge one, but the older man really hadn't had any idea about Tony needing help. And knowing Gibbs, that one incident was enough for him to make sure it'd never happen again. With Gibbs, that much was clear. "To watch my six." Tony finally answered. "When you feel like it, apparently." He couldn't help adding the last part sarcastically.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs visibly flinched this time. "That's not true."

"Gibbs, let's be honest here, shall we? This wasn't the first time I've found myself with no backup. Occasionally when you, daresay, get feed up with me, you turn a blind eye to things that might happen. Sure, you make sure we are all safe when we're on a case; at least when you're _not_ busy ignoring rule number 10; but you gotta admit you don't care about anything else that's not work-related."

Gibbs wasn't sure how he felt. Part of him was angry at the younger man for accusing him of not being a proper partner, but part of him knew the younger man was right and felt like an ass for doing the things Tony said he had. "I've made mistakes, I know. But I'll always have your back."

"I know. That's why I say I trust you with my six. I just might not ever call you again when I need help." Tony didn't feel bad for voicing his thoughts. Throughout the years, whenever he'd felt Gibbs was wrong, he'd found a way to either confront the older man privately or voice his anger, so it wasn't a surprise that he was doing it again; they were alone in the room and it was the best opportunity for him to let his Boss know how he actually felt.

"This will never happen again." Gibbs wanted to be angry and yell; he wanted to tell the younger man that he hadn't been exactly Mr. Perfect, himself, but surprisingly, he managed to suppress his anger. This wasn't about Tony's mistakes; the younger man had earned the right to vent.

"God I hope not." Tony closed his eyes.

That wasn't exactly reassuring, but there was something else that was bothering Gibbs, "You said you trusted me, _partially_ ," he winced inwardly at that word, "with your _six_. What about everything else?" The older agent didn't know where it'd come from, but Tony's silence that followed his question scared him.

Something crossed Tony's eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone and the next moment Tony had a smile plastered on his face and said, "What's with the questions?"

It didn't escape Gibbs' notice that Tony'd evaded his question and it was unsettling to think Tony might not trust him completely anymore; that, after all, he actually _had_ lost Tony's complete trust.

"A lot of things have changed, Gibbs." Tony said quietly when he read the hurt in Gibbs' eyes and then he looked away. "Just-"

"I've made too many mistakes." That was more of a statement than a question.

"Not just you. We all have. But can we please not do this?" Tony wasn't up for opening his heart and pouring out years of pain and hurt feelings.

He'd just recently come to terms that he and Gibbs weren't exactly friends; that Gibbs didn't see him as an equal even when they weren't working; that he was just a boss who admittedly cared really more than any other boss would, but would never let his subordinate forget his place. And he was mad at himself for taking so long to understand it and he didn't think he'd ever be ready to explain those issues to Gibbs. Of course, he'd still listen to his boss if he gave him an advice and he'd share some stuff with him between a crime scene and the Navy Yard, the things that his boss would find out about, anyway; but he wouldn't go out of his way to share everything anymore; he wouldn't go to his Boss' place and he wouldn't bare his heart the way he used to do. Not when the older man always tried his hardest to hide things from him and not when he had, on more than one occasion, failed to have his back when it came to personal stuff.

Besides, Tony was pretty sure that Gibbs hadn't signed for being a father figure when he'd offered him a job. He couldn't blame him for having enough on his plate without him adding to it. It wasn't fair to expect those things from the older man.

Gibbs, for his part, wanted to get to the bottom of it, but he knew Tony was already hurting, both physically and emotionally. So he dropped the subject, for the time being.

He knew that even though Tony had, to some degree, forgiven him for ignoring his calls the other night, he still felt hurt for being left alone like he didn't matter, and knowing the younger man pretty well, Gibbs knew that incident would probably add to his insecurities and Tony wouldn't stop hurting anytime soon; he knew DiNozzo would probably hide even more behind his masks, thinking that he shouldn't have relied on the others so much, in the first place.

He'd once promised the younger man that he'd always have his back, come hell or high water. He'd also promised himself that he wouldn't be like the younger man's father; he wouldn't neglect him and those were the exact things he'd done. He'd ignore Tony's calls, he hadn't had his back and he'd neglected him. And he couldn't forget that recently, they hadn't been exactly close, either and Gibbs knew he had only himself to blame for it. He had been the one who was keeping Tony at arm length and had distanced himself. He couldn't blame Tony for not wanting to talk to him or not trusting him with personal stuff, anymore.

Well, maybe it was time he stopped being a bastard and explained a few things to Tony. That is if he could actually find a reason for his actions; but well, maybe it was time he let Tony in again and regained his trust.

He vowed to himself that he'd start fixing things when this case was over and Tony was safe. He'd invite Tony to his place and over a few meals and some beer, maybe they could start talking again. Just like the old days. And while he was at it, he'd make Tony see that he was actually sorry for treating him so poorly and for not being there when he was supposed to be. He'd make Tony see he hadn't turned out to be just like his old man.

"You need to talk to Ziva and McGee, too." Gibbs said after a few minutes of silence and noticed that Tony's eyes instantly darkened. "They're worried about you and feel bad for ignoring your calls."

"I'm sure they are." Tony snorted. "What they did wasn't like what you did, Gibbs. They picked up the phone, said a few chosen words and then hung up. Didn't even let me talk. I don't think I want to talk about it with them."

Gibbs's eyes hardened. He had no idea how those calls had actually gone. "So you're gonna let that slide, then?"

"That's pretty much what I've been doing for years now, isn't it?" Tony said coldly with a hint of accusation in his tone. It wasn't like the insubordination and sometimes hostile reactions from the junior agents on the team were anything new. And if Gibbs _hadn't_ noticed those things and hadn't noticed how Tony always let them get away with it, then maybe he wasn't a leading material anymore.

Of course, Tony was blaming himself, too. He shouldn't have acted like nothing had happened when they'd shown other signs of disrespect and insubordination.

"DiNozzo-"

"I'll handle it my own way. I won't let it go unnoticed. Not anymore. I might not want to talk about it, but I'm too tired to act like they've done nothing wrong. Enough is enough."

Gibbs didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he didn't want the dynamic of his team to be ruined and that was why he'd always kept quiet, which proved to be the wrong thing to do now that he was looking back at everything; on the other hand, it seemed like keeping that so-called dynamic was already costing his SFA too much.

In the past, he'd ignored things in hope that his agents would work things out on their own; so now, he'd keep quiet again, letting Tony handle things however he thought was suitable. He'd only add some weight on the fact that as the Senior Field Agent, Tony was their superior and would make sure everyone knew it merited respect and subordination. "You do that." He nodded. "I'll have your back."

Tony stared at him for some seconds and then smiled a crooked smile; getting the meaning behind Gibbs' word, he nodded his understanding and silently hoped that his Boss wouldn't forget his own words like he had so many times before.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	7. Chapter 7

Soon after that conversation, Tony fell asleep.

Gibbs had decided not to tell him anything about the laptop he'd brought with him, knowing that Tony needed his rest more than anything else. He needed to get his strength back; after all, nobody knew what tomorrow would bring.

So, Gibbs sat there, checked what he could on the laptop and got frustrated when there was nothing for him. He was a man of action; he had to do something; he needed to be out there and get the bastard who'd threatened one of his people, but he also didn't trust anyone with Tony's life at that moment; mostly because he knew how smart Aron Simmons was. He really was torn between staying there with Tony and getting out of there to find a way to catch the frigging criminal whose mere existence was a risk to his agent's life.

The knock to the door sounded heavenly as he was feeling bored out of his mind.

"Boss?" McGee's head appeared from behind the door and he quietly walked inside when he realized Tony was sleeping. He stood there quietly and watched Tony's pale face and Gibbs let him do that for a few seconds until he couldn't take it any longer.

"You here for a reason, McGee?"

His voice startled the Junior Agent and he looked at his boss and blinked. "Uh... Umm, yeah. Yes, Boss."

Gibbs prayed to God for patience. "So?"

"Oh, right. Umm. Thought you'd want to get to the Navy Yard to go through things for yourself. I've brought my laptop and can work from here for a while. And... And thought I could... Maybe-" he tilted his head towards Tony. "You know?"

Gibbs knew McGee good enough to understand that it was more about him wanting to be alone with Tony to have a chance to talk to him than giving Gibbs a chance to go do something other than sitting around. But he'd had his chance to talk to Tony; he couldn't deny McGee the same thing, so he finally nodded. "You'll not leave his side under any circumstances. That clear, McGee?"

"Yes, Boss."

"Even if he orders you, you'll call me and will only leave when I'm here."

"Got it, Boss." McGee nodded fiercely.

Satisfied for the moment, Gibbs walked outside; determined to be back in a few hours.

To McGee's chagrin, Tony slept the whole time Gibbs was gone and when Gibbs came back and saw that, he decided to give them some more time. So he left again, this time to go home to take a shower.

Finally Tony started to stir and the lines of pain around his eyes deepened. McGee immediately jumped to his feet and put his laptop aside. He watched as Tony's hand went automatically for the PCA pump and a couple of minutes later, his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." McGee said awkwardly when Tony's eyes fixated on him.

"Hey." Tony yawned.

"You still sleepy?" Tim couldn't help the smirk that sat at the corner of his mouth.

"Morphine." He sighed.

"Oh. Right." McGee said sheepishly. "How're you feeling?" He asked meekly and sat down on the chair, looking at his friend.

"I'll live."

Taking a deep breath, he decided to get the conversation over with. "Tony, listen, about last night-" he swallowed and inwardly cringed when Tony didn't try to interrupt him or change the subject. The older agent just stared at him, with absolutely no expression on his face. "I'm... I'm sorry about last night." He finally blurted out.

Tony stared at him a while longer before realizing that Tim wasn't going to say anything else. He almost chuckled. That was it? Gibbs, _the functional mute_ , had talked more and that alone should say something. And let's not forget Gibbs hadn't done what Tim had.

Shaking his head, Tony wondered what he was expected to say. That it was OK and they should all forget about it because it didn't matter? The problem was that it did matter; he'd counted on those people and they hadn't even let him talk when he'd called for help. Why would a simple ' _sorry_ ' resolve every problem?

"Huh." He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and slowly nodded his head. "Good for you."

Tim's jaw dropped open. He hadn't expected that icy answer and he berated himself for not knowing what to do. Clutching the jacket that had somehow ended up in his grasp, he said, "I swear I wouldn't have hung up if I knew you needed help."

"Yeah? Well, that's BS, McGee and you know it." Tony said harshly. "You didn't even let me open my mouth; how could you possibly know that I didn't need help? Wait a second. You didn't know and I _did_ need help." His voice rose at the end but the pain radiating from his abdomen helped him get a grip on his emotions.

"I'm sorry." Tim repeated quietly, not able to look Tony in the eyes.

"Yeah, me too." Replied the older agent coldly. "I'm sorry I thought I could count on you and I'm sorry I called you at all. Don't worry, it won't happen again."

Tim's head shot up. "Tony-"

"No. I don't wanna hear it. I'm done with pretending like I don't know how little you think of me or pretending like I'm OK with it. I'm your immediate superior and that's all you need to keep in mind from now on. We'll only talk about work together; you'll respect me and obey my orders and that'd be it." Tony rubbed his left arm above the cast and willed the pain to subside. "What've you got on the case?" He changed the subject, indicating that the discussion was over and he wouldn't budge anymore.

Tim was shocked beyond words; he hadn't expected _that_ ; he honestly had believed that Tony wouldn't hold the event of the other night against them and would easily move on. He'd suspected that, this time, the SFA would be more upset and rightly so; that was why he'd apologized, but he'd thought that his apology would suffice; he was petrified at how much anger and iciness was behind every single word that left Tony's mouth. He opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but the door opened and Gibbs walked in with a cup of coffee and a paper bag in his hand.

The older man immediately sensed the tension in the room and suspiciously eyed the junior agent who gulped and looked down. "Get back to the office and find me something useful."

Tim quickly grabbed his stuff, mumbled a goodbye to Tony and almost ran out of the room.

"That didn't go well, I gather." Gibbs said as he dropped the bag on Tony's bed.

Tony eyed it like it was containing a bomb. "What's this?" He ignored Gibb's question for the moment.

"Soup. The only thing you're allowed to have for a while." Gibbs sat down on his chair.

Tony picked the bag up but had a hard time taking the food out of it and Gibbs felt like a douchebag for not thinking about Tony's broken arm. He gently took it from Tony's hand, pulled out the cup of soup, took its lid off and handed the cup to Tony who took is silently and nodded his thanks.

"So?" Gibbs asked, referring to his earlier question.

"It was pretty obvious. Huh?" Tony took a sip from his soup and enjoyed the taste. He wasn't about to complain about a mostly one-sided argument; he wasn't a kid for God's sake. He was a grown man and wouldn't sulk or nag about his problems.

"Vance's found out about what they did and added formal reprimands to their files." Gibbs informed his SFA, hoping that it'd show him that his superiors had his back.

Tony wasn't sure how to feel. But he didn't think he could argue about that reprimand. They hadn't just been unreachable, they'd hung up on him; not being on call didn't mean they were allowed to ignore every protocol and rule. But as much as he knew they hated a formal reprimand in their files, he knew it wouldn't do anyone any good. They needed to change a few things in order to make sure this wouldn't happen again. He'd been relatively lucky this time; but he needed to know that he could trust them and for that to happen, he knew that he needed to take a different approach with his two teammates. "I'm not sure that'd change anything." He said frankly.

"They won't do something like that again." Gibbs sounded so certain.

Tony couldn't feel as sure, though. Yes, they probably wouldn't do it this way again, but there was no guarantee that after a while, when things got back to normal, they wouldn't ignore him some other way. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

Gibbs was quiet for a few moments, thinking how he could reassure his SFA. At last, he realized he couldn't really do that; and with the amount of thinking he'd been doing lately, he figured that it wasn't just that he couldn't find a way to reassure Tony, it was the fact that deep down, he, himself, wasn't sure his two junior agents would act differently under different circumstances.

With that thought, came the realization that it was partly his fault; he, as the team leader, had a responsibility towards his agents and had to make sure they wouldn't get too full of themselves or that they wouldn't turn against another team member. And he'd failed miserably in that area. It was way past the time he put an end to it; he needed to make sure the junior agents would learn what the proper behavior expected from federal agents was.

Better late than never.

"What are you going to do about it?" Gibbs could see the wheels turning in Tony's head and figured that it was DiNozzo's right to teach those two the long overdue lesson and whatever Tony decided, he'd back him up.

"Not sure, yet." Tony confessed. "But I know that I should change a few things. I know for a fact that they wouldn't do this to you. I have to make sure they know it's not OK to pull that kind of stunt with me, either. So, I don't know, maybe I gotta act more professional around them, less friendly..." he went quiet and after a couple of seconds, he bit the corner of his bottom lip and added, "Make that not friendly at all."

Gibbs nodded, knowing full well that Tony was right. "Hell, get all bossy on them and I know what to do if they so much as open their mouths to protest or disobey your orders." He held Tony's gaze and knew that Tony'd read it in his eyes that he could count on him. Tony nodded his understanding and turned his attention back to his very tasty soup.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	8. Chapter 8

During the three days that they kept Tony in the hospital, no one could find anything to get any closer to Aron Simmons. All they'd found was that he'd entered the country under an alias, approximately 5 months before the attack against Tony and clearly he'd spent those months to regroup and most probably to study DiNozzo and his habits.

No one could accuse Simmons of being a fool and that was probably the main reason he was so furious with Tony. Tony'd fooled him and Simmons couldn't stand it.

So, when Tony was released from the hospital, Gibbs put two options in front of him; he could either stay with Gibbs or be sent to a safe house until they knew more about Simmon's whereabouts or till Tony got his clean bill of health.

Tony, of course, wouldn't go to a safe house for that long and he protested vehemently against staying at Gibbs'. But at last, he'd been forced to accept it, seeing that Director Vance was backing Gibbs up, as well; but what unsettled him the most was that Gibbs almost looked happy about the situation. That was totally unnerving if you knew Gibbs.

By the time they got home and Tony was settled in the guest room, Gibbs had arranged for two agents to stay in front of the house and two near the back door. He wasn't about to take any risks with Tony's life. Aron Simmons wasn't just any criminal or arm dealer; he was smart, dangerous and vengeful. And he had a grudge against Tony big as the continent which meant he would never waste his chance of having his revenge by making a mistake.

Things at the office were shaky for everyone and for many reasons; for McGee and Ziva, it was obvious why; aside from a formal reprimand in their files, Vance had once again dressed them down in his office, making it clear that he didn't tolerate that kind of behavior from his agents, no matter how good they were at their jobs.

For Gibbs it was a bit worse, because he was having turmoil on the inside. Anger, contrition and concern were driving him up the wall. He'd, with so much difficulty, told Vance about his own mistake, stating that since he'd made pretty much the same mistake as his two other agents, the Director needed to know about his part, too. Vance had just sit there, partly shocked, partly disappointed and had announced that a reprimand will be added to his file, as well. He hadn't said another word, though, because with Gibbs, he knew it wasn't needed; it was written all over the Lead Agent's face that he was punishing himself worse than anyone could.

Abby and Ducky kept showing up at Gibbs' place to keep Tony company, and Gibbs was usually around, too. But except on one occasion, Tony hadn't seen Ziva and that meeting hadn't gone any better than the one with Tim. In fact, it'd gone even worse; because when Tony refused to accept Ziva's half-assed apology; she'd gone so far as to put the blame on Tony, telling him that if he hadn't been so ' _insufferable'_ , they wouldn't have thought he was fooling around and it was his fault that they were reprimanded.

That had set Tony off; the angry look that he'd sent Ziva had been so intense that she'd immediately started to apologize, saying that she hadn't meant it and that she'd been just very worried and stressed out. Tony had continued with his glare until she realized that she wasn't welcome there and left without another word.

By Tony's second day at Gibbs' house, he was ready to escape from the window in the guest room. The older agent wouldn't even let him get to the door.

"For crying out loud, Boss; I can't hide in a hole for the rest of my life." Tony growled when once again Gibbs barked his name, calling him away from the window.

"You calling my place a hole, now?"

"And just what do you think will happen if I go to the window?" Tony pretended he hadn't heard his boss' remark about his place. "Sniper rifle is not Simmon's style. He wants me to suffer."

If that was supposed to comfort Gibbs, it failed. "We haven't heard of him for 11 years. You don't know his style anymore." Gibbs snarled.

"Come on, you really think someone like Simmons would change his pattern?"

"For getting his hands on you; yes." Gibbs retorted as he placed two plates on the coffee table.

"He won't." Tony groaned indignantly and sat down.

"You OK eating with that arm?" Gibbs eyed Tony as he grabbed his fork.

"Yeah, I can manage." Tony said sulkily.

Trying to placate, Gibbs said, "Once you get better, you can come back to work. I'm not going to force you hide here."

Tony looked up and Gibbs could see hope in his eyes.

"But until we get him, you'll go nowhere alone. I should be always with you wherever you go. That clear?"

Tony raised his brow. "No date?"

Gibbs shook his head. He knew Tony would never go out and endanger some girl's life in a situation like that. "Nowhere. Clear?"

"For now." Tony muttered.

"DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss." Tony sighed in defeat. "I'm sure we'll find a way to make this work." He added after a second.

That was good enough for Gibbs; he'd known from the beginning that it wasn't going to be easy to keep Tony in sight all the time. Now he just had to find a way to stick around, no matter what Tony wanted to do.

"Something wrong with the food?" Gibbs asked out of nowhere.

Tony looked down at his food which was half eaten, wondering what Gibbs was talking about. "No?" ' _Was that a tricky question?'_ He thought absently.

"Can't be the beer, either."

"Gibbs?" Tony gingerly leaned back.

"Trying to find out why the last time you were here was-" he trailed off.

"Ages ago?" Tony helped. "And really, Gibbs? You actually blaming _me_ for it?" He shook his head.

The thing was that Gibbs knew it wasn't Tony's fault, but he wasn't ready to open his heart and he needed to know if during the time that he'd been distancing himself, Tony'd had his own reasons not to come around, too. Well, apparently, not. Seemed like Tony'd merely got the memo and had stayed away; probably thinking he wasn't welcome in his house anymore.

His silence lasted so long that Tony lost his appetite, got up, put his plate in the fridge and walked to the stairs to go to his room.

"You know my door is always open, Tony. Right?" Gibbs posed the question when Tony was about to go up the stairs.

Tony paused, looked back and smiled a bitter smile. "I think I'm well enough for desk duty. I'll start from tomorrow."

It hadn't been a request, just a statement and it sure hadn't been the answer Gibbs was waiting for.

Years ago, despite everything, when he'd said that same thing to his agent, Tony had replied positively, saying that he knew it. This time, his answer was as good as ' _No'_. No, he wasn't sure he was welcome, anymore. No, he didn't think he could rely on his boss the way he did in the past. No, he didn't want to talk about it because Gibbs was a coward and hadn't said what he should have. And it'd been simply a ' _No';_ he didn't know that anymore.

Rubbing his face, Gibbs put his own plate down on the coffee table and went to check the doors and windows. He had to work on showing Tony that his door was open, later; for now, the younger man's safety and health was more important.

...

"Tonyyyy; you're back." Abby screamed joyfully when she saw him in the bullpen the next morning.

He was walking slowly and cautiously and seeing Abby running towards him, he actually stepped back and practically hid himself behind Gibbs. Gibbs had to stifle his laughter at that. "Abby." He called loudly and the Goth came to an abrupt halt. Seeing Tony back in the bullpen had made her forget how bad he'd been hurt just a few days ago.

"Oh. Sorry." She said sheepishly. "Umm, a very very gentle hug?"

Tony chuckled and stepped forward. "Please don't squeeze."

She just put her arms around his neck and breathed happily when Tony's right arm circled around her shoulders.

"Tony. I am glad you are OK." Ziva said when the man approached his desk.

Tony looked at her, but said nothing.

"Yes, Tony. It's great to have you back." McGee nodded his agreement.

"OK. Thanks. Get back to work." Tony growled as he sat heavily in his chair and sighed contently; paying no attention to the looks his teammates were sending him.

Abby looked at Gibbs worriedly but when the old agent shook his head very slightly, she knew that it was better if she stayed out of this one.

She'd already talked to Tony about what had happened the other night and had told him that she was sorry for believing Tim's story and for not calling him to make sure things were actually alright. She'd also let Tony know that she wouldn't let Tim and Ziva off the hook any time soon and that she'd do anything Tony wished to them. That had somehow made Tony feel warm inside, because at least Abby still had his back. Somehow. But he'd told her that her type of punishments wouldn't solve anything and that he had to deal with things his own way.  
Abby had been worried, of course, but since she was mad at the junior agents and had already promised herself and Tony to have his back, she vowed not to interfere and go according to Tony's plan.

There was another reason behind that vow, of course, and that was the fact that earlier, Gibbs had pulled her aside and warned her against trying to mend things forcefully or expecting Tony to forget and forgive easily. He'd told her that she needed to show Tony respect if they wanted to save what was left of his trust and friendship.

So, seeing that Tony had decided to give them the cold shoulder and was acting all professional, she decided to do the same and went back to her lab after sending McGee an angry look.

The bullpen was too quiet when Director Vance walked down the stairs and he had to double check to make sure everyone was actually there.

"Good to have you back, Agent DiNozzo." He said as he rounded the corner and stood in front of Tony's desk.

Tony looked up and tried to smile politely. "Thank you, Sir."

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Much better than yesterday." Tony replied vaguely.

Vance smirked slightly. "Good to know. I need you and Gibbs in my office, in ten minutes." He said and walked away.

Tony glanced at Gibbs who was now looking at them suspiciously.

"Did he just come down here to order us up?" Tony questioned with confusion.

"That can't be good." Tim observed.

"No, it can't." Tony agreed absently, before realizing that he'd talked aloud and Tim felt a little happier just because Tony hadn't ignored his comment.

.

Ten minutes later, Gibbs and Tony walked into the director's office without knocking.

"Gibbs, DiNozzo. Take seats." Vance left his desk and joined them at the conference table.

"You sure you're ready to be back, DiNozzo?" Vance asked as he eyed the pale man. The steps hadn't been easy on his healing wounds.

"With all due respect, Sir, why don't you just get to the point?" Tony said tersely, still trying to hide the weariness that a few steps had caused; wondering why they hadn't taken the elevator instead.

"What point?" Vance feigned ignorance.

"You didn't call us up here just to ask the same questions you've asked down in the bullpen, Leon." This time Gibbs pointed out.

"Let me guess." Tony continued. "You want to use me to find Aron Simmons."

Gibbs had suspected the same thing, but hearing it made him angry. "And you can forget it."

"Gibbs-" Vance started. "I want him as bad as you do and I won't let him get away with hurting one of our agents."

"DiNozzo is in no shape to be bait and even if he were, I wouldn't let it happen. Simmons is too dangerous. You're NOT going to use him as bait."

"Gibbs-"

"No, Leon."

"Actually-" Tony jumped in before his two bosses could get at each other's throats. "I _am_ in a good enough shape." Tony said and ignored Gibbs' glare. "But we have another problem here."

Both Gibbs and Vance frowned.

"And what's that?" Vance asked.

"Simmons is not just dangerous. He's also smart. He won't be fooled. Not twice. Besides, last time, he sent hired goons; what makes you think he'll show up this time or will get his people to take me to _his_ place? What if he sends them to just teach me another lesson?"

Gibbs grinned slightly and felt proud. DiNozzo always looked at everything from every possible angle and during the years, that had solved many of their cases. Besides, with Tony's explanation, Vance would forget about using him as bait and he'd be safe.

"You have a better plan?" Vance finally asked.

"Actually I'm working on it." Tony grinned.

"I'm listening."

"For starters, you need to let me go back to my own place." Of course, that'd be killing two birds with one stone; besides the obvious goal that'd be reached, he could finally leave Gibbs' place if they agreed to let him go with his plan.

"I thought you said using you as bait won't work." Vance commented.

"Let me finish." Tony almost rolled his eyes. "This is not exactly it. I know it wouldn't bring Simmons out, but he'd send his goons again and this time we'll be prepared. Gibbs or someone else could always come and escort me to my place and then leave; this way they'd think I'm alone in my apartment. If I'm in there, I can have all the advantages I need in my favor and-"

"And I can always come back from the emergency exit without them noticing." Once again, Gibbs had been able to read what Tony had on his mind and it was clear that they were both pleased with that little fact if the matching half grin on their faces was anything to go by.

Vance fought the urge to roll his eyes at them; they did amaze him most of the times, but he wasn't about to show it. "And when you surprise his goons? What then?"

"Well, then we can set a meeting on my terms." Tony stated innocently; he knew Gibbs would have problem with that part of plan.

"What?" Gibbs exclaimed, he hadn't seen that coming.

"Boss," Tony said calmly. "You don't really think that we can get anything useful out of his goons, do you? The moment Simmons realizes they are not coming back, he will be gone again. And then what? We wait another ten years for him to show up?" Tony shook his head. "I don't think so. Our only chance is to call him from his assistant's phone. He's arrogant enough to accept my conditions for a meeting. The only thing he wants is my head."

"And what would your terms be, DiNozzo?" Gibbs growled; he wasn't happy with Tony's plan; he wasn't happy at all.

"I-" Tony's sentence was cut off when his phone started to ring and he apologized as he pulled it out of his pocket to turn it off, but something in his gut stopped him.

"DiNozzo." Vance called with a warning tone when the phone kept ringing and Tony did nothing to stop it.

Finally, Tony hit the accept button and put the phone up to his ear. "This is Special Agent DiNozzo."

Vance looked at him incredulously. _Had DiNozzo just ignored them and answered his phone?_ He opened his mouth to bark an order when Tony's eyes darkened and he held a finger up to silence him. It irritated the Director even more, but before he could say anything to that, Tony put the phone on speaker and calmly said, "Simmons. I know it's you."

Both Vance and Gibbs looked startled.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	9. Chapter 9

The only thing that could be heard from the other end of the line was the sound of someone's breathing.

"Now I know you must've really missed me; I was your right-hand man, after all, but to just call to listen to my voice is a little bit creepy, Man. Let me tell you that." Tony said sweetly and if Vance didn't know better, he'd think that DiNozzo was talking to one of his best friends.

It was both amusing and scary how fast Tony had changed his persona and it was one of those moments that reminded him why as the Director of the agency he wouldn't want to lose Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

A chuckle came from the other side of the line. "The problem, my friend, is that I can't bring myself to call you Anthony or _Agent DiNozzo_." A gruff voice finally filled the otherwise silent office.

"But you can bring yourself to beat the shit out of me? You haven't changed a bit, Aaron." Tony chuckled in return and to anyone who couldn't see his eyes it was like he was actually enjoying the talk.

"You know you can't trace this call, right?" Aaron asked coolly.

"Oh, I didn't even try it. I know you too well."

"You think so, don't you?" The other man laughed. "But I _have_ changed, Martin. Ah, sorry, I mean Anthony. Agent DiNozzo. Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

Tony grimaced, the use of those words showed how well the man had done his homework. He even knew how Tony introduced himself when the matters at hand weren't serious.

"Yeah? So, why don't we meet somewhere and then you can tell me about it in detail?" Tony offered; ignoring Gibbs angry glare.

"Oh, I was hoping you'd suggest that. That's exactly what I've called you for."

"Nice. Because I was just thinking how I could contact you to suggest it."

Vance could feel Gibbs getting angrier by the second and he wasn't far behind, himself.

"Good. Then get rid of those two bastards who are rudely listening to our conversation, so we can talk privately! This is between you and me."

The three men's heads snapped towards the window in Vance's office as they heard Simmons' first sentence. They were being watched. Damn, Simmons was dangerous, smart and _resourceful_.

"Araon, we're gonna meet and we're gonna do that on my terms. So why don't you stop with your shit?" Tony said coolly, like he was asking him when he was free for a friendly lunch.

"No, my friend; we'll meet _on my_ terms. You'll come to the place I tell you and you will come alone." Araon growled, sounding like he was losing his patience.

"And what makes you think that I'd do that?"

"Ah, dear Agent DiNozzo. I don't just _think_ , I _know_ you will do just that. And you know how I know that? Because I have some little creatures here with me. Ten adorable little girls to be exact. And I'd hate to hurt them because of your stubbornness. You don't want some little girls' blood on your hand, now, do you? What would you say to their parents?"

"You son of a bitch." Gibbs roared angrily as he rose to his feet; his palms hitting the table top forcefully. The news of some little girls being held hostages had set him off.

The laughter coming from the phone sounded so wicked that Tony, who'd become quiet and still, thought he was going to be sick.

"Hello, Agent Gibbs. I knew this little show would appeal to you. To be honest that's why I chose these little things. Oh, and did I mention that they're all 8 years old?" He laughed again, knowing what his words were doing to Gibbs.

Now Gibbs looked like he could kill anyone who was around him with bare hands.

Vance closed his eyes as Tony dropped his head down.

"Now, if you just send your Agent DiNozzo to me, I promise I'll let these little angels go and I promise I won't let anything happen to them. How does that sound? One agent who's actually signed for situations like this in exchange for so many little innocent girls. It's a fair trade, I'd say." He sounded like he was trying to seal a deal.

The silence on Gibbs' side made Tony look up and for a sickening moment, he realized that Gibbs was actually weighing his options. Gibbs was contemplating trading him and although there were so many lives on the line, he'd, in a brief selfish moment, hoped that Gibbs would at least fight harder.

But then again, it was Gibbs' weakest spot and besides, he himself was never going to let anything happen to some little girls because of him; so what was the point of hoping for a different reaction from Gibbs?

It was just that despite all those facts, Tony couldn't help but wish he was worth a little argument.

"Oh, maybe you don't believe me." The voice coming from the phone brought them all out of their reverie. "I could do something to reassure you that I actually have them. Hang on."

Before they could do anything, a pained scream was heard from the other side of the line.

" _No_!"

"You bastard!"

"I will _KILL_ you."

The three men in the room yelled, all at once.

The only response they got was the sound of that annoying laughter from the other side. "Oh, that was just one little finger. It'll heal nicely if you do as I say."

"What do you want? Where do you want me?" Despite the storm that he could feel was brewing inside him, Tony's voice was icy, firm and steady.

"Go to Agent Gibbs' car. Alone, and you'll find the instructions waiting for you there. If you don't do exactly as I say, these little creatures will end up dead one by one, and I'll make sure everyone knows why they'd died." Aaron's voice was hard this time. "You have exactly 5 minutes to be by the car to answer my call to the phone in there. Don't make me hurt this little girl again."

And then the line went dead.

Tony stood up from his seat and ignoring the pain radiating from his side, he dashed out of the door, rushing to Gibbs' car, not caring how it'd end for him, as long as those girls could walk out of that situation unharmed.

Vance stood up to follow him, but was stopped when Gibbs grabbed his arm.

"You're going to let him go alone? Simmons will kill him. We have to do something." Vance said with disbelief.

"If we follow DiNozzo, Simmons will kill those _girls_." Gibbs' tone was so cold and hard that it sent a shiver down Vance's spine.

"So you're going to let him kill DiNozzo?" His eyes were strangely wide.

"Ten kids, Leon." Gibbs got in his face. "Ten little girls. You wanna be the one to explain the reason of their deaths to their parents? Because I know that bastard; Simmons; he won't hesitate before killing them."

"So because DiNozzo has no one to ask for an answer, you're gonna let him die?" Vance couldn't believe he was defending Tony's rights and against Gibbs of all people.

"Dammit, Leon." He yelled. "You think This is easy for me?" Gibbs felt he could weep in the agony that Vance's words had caused; Tony wasn't alone, he did have people who cared about him. _He_ cared about him.

"From where I'm standing, yeah. It looks that way. And from what I saw on DiNozzo's face, he was right there with me, too."

Gibbs cringed. He'd promised to have Tony's back and once again in less than one week, he'd made the younger man doubt him and his words.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to him." Gibbs announced firmly. "But we can't do it openly. We have to find a way around it." With that he walked out. His heart heavy with guilt, worry and regret.

He had to make it up to Tony, but he couldn't do anything about it now. He just hoped that Tony would actually live to hear his apologies. But right now, he had to think of those innocent girls, first. Tony knew what he was getting into when he'd started this job.

Still, he felt he died a little more inside just thinking about Tony dead. If anything happened to Tony, he knew he wouldn't be able to continue there. He wouldn't be able to ever live with himself.

.

Tony reached Gibbs' car way sooner than the five minutes deadline he'd been given and using the back elevator, he'd managed to avoid running to anyone else. The window to the passenger side was broken and an envelope was left on the seat.

The knowledge that Simmons had been able to not only watch them and their every move, but also send someone inside to leave a package for him in the car made him so angry that he hit the car with his plaster cast, not even registering the pain that ran up his arm to his brain.

Grabbing the package, he peeped in and brought out what was inside it. The first thing that caught his eyes made him feel sick; it was a picture of ten little frightened girls, sitting on a wooden floor, all looking up at the camera that had taken their picture.

Under the picture four words were written. " _YOU CAN SAVE US."_

A phone was also in the envelope. Tony took it and dialed his own number to have the other phone's number left on the screen of his cell.

Having had time to think logically, Tony was confident that Gibbs would most probably come up with a plan to come to his rescue; so for the moment, he had to keep up the act of being on his own and in the meantime he'd leave as many leads as he could without making it obvious.

He knew that there was a chance that he was still being watched, so, very stealthy, he grabbed the pen and the paper pad that he kept in the car and jotted down the number that was left on the screen of his phone, in case he had to dispose of the phone and couldn't leave it for Gibbs.

Right then the phone started to ring.

Passing the pen to his left hand, he answered the phone immediately, and simultaneously started to take notes; it wasn't an easy task with his arm in the cast and he hoped what he was writing down would be readable later.

The phone call was short and to the point. He was supposed to leave everything he had on him in the car and walk out and get in the taxi that was waiting for him outside.

 _Great_. He couldn't even leave an address for his boss and he knew if things didn't go right, which at that moment didn't seem they would, he would never see the sight of their building or the people inside it and he sure would never see his boss again. So on the notepad, he added a few more words and let it drop to the floor of the car. He then took off his badge, his ID, his phone, his watch, his wallet and his knives and put them on the seat; feeling strangely glad that he'd left his service weapon in his desk drawer. If anyone had access to the parking lot, then he didn't like the idea of his weapon being left on that seat.

He then walked out and went to the taxi that was clearly waiting for him and with no words, he got in.

.

A couple of minutes later, Gibbs left the building and went straight to his car; noting that Tony had left everything in there. He opened the door and knelt on the ground in front of the seat.

Clenching his teeth, he took the picture that was left on the seat and read the sentence written there. It was one of those moments that he felt he'd be sick after so many years of keeping his stoicism.

The notepad on the floor of the car caught his attention next and he took it to see what was on it. There were a few pieces of information in a very bad handwriting telling him that Tony had tried to write them down with his broken hand.

There was a number. Something about leaving with a taxi and having a burner phone on him.

There were also a few more words written on the pad that instead of making him feel better, made him feel all hollow and broken. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the seat and let his emotions take better of him, even if for a few seconds.

He'd let his 2IC, his friend, his best and most loyal agent walk to his imminent death and he hadn't even showed him how much he cared. And what had the said agent wrote for him?

_'Not your fault.'_

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	10. Chapter 10

When he emerged from the elevator and walked into the bullpen five minutes later, Gibbs looked all business and collected. He dropped a clean sheet of paper with just a number on it on McGee's desk and ordered him to see if he could trace it. He'd rewritten the number on a new piece of paper; not needing everyone to know what Tony'd left for him.

"Gibbs? What is going on? Where is Tony?" Ziva asked as she walked from behind her desk to see what Gibbs had given McGee.

"You get back to work and look for something on Aaron Simmons."

"But-" she closed her mouth when Gibbs sent an icy glare her way.

"Boss." McGee called. "I got a location. The target is moving, heading south. Boss, whose number is this?"

"Keep checking it and let me know where it goes exactly."

"Is that Aaron Simmons?"

Ziva looked between them. "Should we grab our gears?"

"No and no. Stay here. Keep me updated, McGee." He said and walked out.

Vance, who'd been watching him, walked after him and got in the elevator right before the door could close.

"I don't have time, Leon."

"Oh, I know." Vance replied. "What are you going to do? You going after him alone?"

"We can't risk being seen by them. If I go alone, I might have a chance."

"If you go alone, you might get both you _and_ DiNozzo killed." Vance said angrily.

"Leon. I can't take anyone with me and you know it. Don't tell me you have a better idea."

Vance sighed. "You're going to get your sniper rifle, aren't you? And how do you know there will be a place to use it?"

"My gut." The door opened then and he left Vance.

"I hope your gut doesn't choose now to fail you." Vance walked out after him. "And Gibbs."

Gibbs turned around in time to catch a cellphone that was thrown to him.

"Use that. They might control your moves with your phone. I'll update you with DiNozzo's location." He said and turned around and went back to the elevator.

Gibbs looked down at the phone and almost smiled. Today wasn't going to be the day of DiNozzo's death. He would save him.

He felt so proud of the younger man for jumping into action when he'd heard about those girls; he hadn't been surprised, of course; it'd always been like that with Tony, but it didn't mean he didn't feel proud every damn time it happened, and it happened a _lot_. But he also felt terrible, because choosing those girls had been obviously Simmons' way to get to _him_ and he'd been successful and now Tony was the one who was going to save them by offering himself on a silver platter. How could he ever-

No. Tony would come out of this one just fine. He wasn't going to let the world lose a great man like DiNozzo.

...

The drive to the place Tony was being taken, took almost 45 minutes and once Tony felt they were getting close, he grabbed the phone and started to type a message, updating his supposed backup with his location and where he thought he'd end up at; after contemplating his options, he sent it to Vance's number and then deleted the message, lest they checked his phone later.

Vance got the message and quickly forwarded it to Gibbs' new phone and silently prayed that the whole thing would turn out alright. He knew Gibbs wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened to DiNozzo and he was sure that the older agent wouldn't stay with them if things went south.

He really didn't want to lose DiNozzo, either. He'd been a little surprised today, but he'd come a long way since the day he'd started at the agency and he'd learned that there was a lot more to agent DiNozzo than met the eye. He didn't want to lose a good agent that day and more importantly, after the day they just had had; after what he'd seen in the younger man, he didn't think he'd want to lose him period.

And he hoped that Gibbs succeeded in getting him out of that mess, alive and in one piece; because as heroic as his death would be, it'd be too big a loss if he didn't make it.

...

Upon arriving to the Simmon's hiding place, Tony subtly looked around and wondered how someone as smart as Simmons had chosen that place for hiding. Aside from a cabin near the line of trees, the area was bare and empty. In a way, it gave them the opportunity to spot any wrong movement in the area; but Tony knew that if anyone, namely Gibbs, had followed him, he'd be able to easily take Simmons out; all he needed would be a sniper rifle and that thought comforted him, because there still was a chance that Gibbs had actually followed him and had thought about bringing his rifle with him.

"Special Agent DiNozzo." Simmons called loudly as he walked out of the cabin and towards him. "It's good to finally meet you again."

He kept walking until he was one step away from Tony. He'd changed; he was older now, with grey hair and lots of wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth, and he looked more vicious. Opening his arms he pulled Tony into a fierce hug and patted his back.

When Tony stood there and did nothing, he spoke in his ear. "You're supposed to hug back." He said slowly, like he was teaching a child how to hold a pencil.

Tony pulled away instead and poured as much disgust and hatred as he could in his eyes and looked Simmons straight in the eyes. "I'm here. Alone." He said. "Now's the time for you to live up to _your_ end of the bargain."

"And I will. I will. You know me, I'm a man of my word." He nodded seriously. "And since I am, I have to kill you." He pulled out a 9mm pistol out of his waistband and aimed it at Tony's head.

Tony didn't even flinch; nor did his face hold any expression as he spoke. "Thought you wanted me to suffer." He smirked; he had to buy himself, _and those girls_ , as much time as possible.

"Ah, yes." The man laughed and lowered his gun and shrugged. "You have a point and _I_ have a plan." He grinned. "You see, this little thing holds ten bullets, meaning I can shoot you nine times in places that wouldn't kill you but would make you writhe in agony. Exactly what I want. The last bullet could go to your heart; although, I still haven't decided about that one; I think I could actually shoot you ten times instead of nine and just leave you here to die slowly and painfully. Yes, I think I like it better this way."

Tony bit the inside of his cheek to keep his face straight. He held the old man's gaze and showed that he had no fears. It really seemed like this was it, but strangely enough, he was totally calm. "How do I know you will let the girls go?" That was the only thing that he was worried about at that moment.

"Let them go?" The criminal blinked. "What's wrong with you? They'd get lost in the woods if I do that. I'll just leave them here. Unharmed. And I'm sure someone will find them eventually."

This time Tony's eyes flashed with anger and he didn't even try to suppress it. "You bastard; you think you can get away with this? They'll find you."

"Like you did last time?" Simmons laughed out loud and without any warning he brought his gun up and shot Tony in the right shoulder.

That caught Tony by surprise but he managed to stay on his feet and only took one step back as the bullet hit him. He grabbed his shoulder with his left hand and pushed hard against the wound but before he could school his feature, the second round entered his left shoulder which had been recently set after being dislocated. This time a low grunt of pain left Tony's mouth as his left arm fell down from his right shoulder to his side and he clenched his jaw so hard that he felt his teeth cracked.

"Hmm; didn't think you'd be this stoic. I like that characteristic for a man." Aaron said with real admiration and amazement in his voice. "Now. We have 8 bullets left. Where to shoot?" He looked Tony up and down. "We have the knees, the thighs... That's four. Umm, where else? Right; one to the stomach. Two even. That won't kill you if I aim at the right place. I'll still have two bullets left. And I don't wanna shoot you in the head or heart. That's too quick and you don't deserve quick. You tell me, where else?"

"Oh, I get to choose? I always loved it when you let me do that." Tony's voice was laced with pain, but he managed to sound steady. "Let me see... Umm, what about you put the barrel in your mouth and then pull the trigger?" Tony smirked despite the agony he was in. Staying upright was becoming harder and harder with every second and secretly he wished that if he was going to get shot again, it'd be to his thigh. Bullets to knees would end his career and if there was the slightest chance of survival, he preferred being able to walk again. With a wound to his thigh, he'd have better chances of recovering. Plus, he'd fall on the ground and it wouldn't look bad or weak.

Aaron broke into laughter. "Damn, I've missed you so much." He tried to get his laughter under control. "I love you; you and your sense of humor. It's a shame that I have to kill you."

"Oh, but I wasn't kidding." Tony said with a tone of voice that was like he was hurt for not being taken seriously.

"Yeah?" He laughed again. "Well, neither was I." And with that he pulled the trigger again and shot Tony in the right thigh.

Tony's wish had been granted, but even to his utter surprise, he stayed standing, with all his weight on his left leg. That didn't last long, though, when the fourth bullet entered his left thigh and he finally ended up on his back on the ground.

That was then that he realized he was unconsciously cursing under his breath and that he was losing too much blood to survive this one. Even if Gibbs showed up and somehow saved the day, he'd be a goner. He just hoped those girls would survive and Simmons would get his just deserts.

Damn, he was tired.

"I really don't know how to spend the last two bullets." Simmons said thoughtfully like he was trying to solve a math problem.

Tilting his head, he studied Tony. "How does it feel?" He asked quietly as he knelt by his head, tapping Tony's cheek with the barrel of his pistol.

Tony had a hard time concentrating. He couldn't move his arms, couldn't move his legs and blood was freely leaving his body from the many holes that shouldn't have been there. "To s-..." he swallowed thickly and tried again, "To see your ugly face up-close?" He smirked. "Awful."

Aaron chuckled. "You never give up, do you?" He sounded different; almost like he was actually sorry. "No, what I meant was how does it feel to be betrayed by people so close to you?"

"Who are we talking about here?" Tony asked, even though he had some ideas where that conversation was going.

"You betrayed me and now you've been betrayed."

"By whom?"

"Don't be obtuse. It really doesn't suit you." The man fully sat down. "The moment your Agent Gibbs heard about those girls, he forgot about you. Don't tell me it didn't hurt."

"I'm still not following." He shook his head mentally; he so was not going to go there now.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't." Aaron said and pushed himself up. "You could've had everything. _Everything_." He shook his head. "But instead, you chose to betray me; you chose the wrong side. You made a mistake."

"The only mistake I made was not shooting you in the head when I had the chance." Tony said disgustingly.

"Yeah. That was also a mistake." Aaron smirked. "A mistake that _I_ am not gonna make. Now; where should I put a bullet into next?"

He lowered his gun to Tony's knee and this time Tony closed his eyes. He almost wished Aaron would just shoot him in the heart.

He thought he vaguely heard something but when he didn't feel any pain in his knee, he figured the pain in his thigh must be blocking it. But then something landed heavily on him; pain ran up his legs at the pressure on his wounds and he opened his eyes with shock to find Aaron Simmons' dead body sprawled over his legs.

Right after that, two more of Aaron's men went down.

Tony's eyes quickly landed on the two goons who had been standing some feet away and saw them running towards the cabin which probably was the place they were holding the kids in.

Biting his lower lip hard and with some difficulty, he moved his right arm and grabbed the gun from Aaron's outstretched hand and aimed it at one of the goons and pulled the trigger. The first bullet went astray; Tony quickly readjusted his aim and as the man turned towards him, he shot him right between the eyes. The other one turned around and aimed at Tony's head, but the agent was faster and kept shooting at him too, watching as his bullets hit the man in the chest one after another and the man staggered back and dropped down with a look of shock on his face.

Tony's arm fell on his stomach numbly and the pistol slipped through his lax fingers; he looked around one more time before letting his head drop, too. He was so drained that he couldn't even move his right arm to a position that'd hurt a bit less.

He was done. Gibbs had shown up. And Aaron Simmons was dead; he wouldn't hurt anyone else.

Tony took a look around from where his head had landed on the ground and realized that Gibbs must be far away. The older man probably wouldn't get to him in time which was a shame; because he really wished he could talk to his boss one more time before kicking the bucket. He kinda wished to hear Gibbs telling him that he did value his life and that it did matter to him whether he lived or not. He didn't care that it sounded childish even to his own ears; he just needed to know that he meant something to someone.

But well, he couldn't get _everything_ that he wished for. After all, he'd already had three of his wishes granted and three was the magic number.

Simmons was dead and gone for good.

Those little girls were safe.

And he hadn't been shot in the knees; which, admittedly, didn't matter much if he was going to die, but it still was one wish granted.

So yes. He was happy with the outcome. Besides, he'd die for a good reason. In the line of duty. That's what he'd always wanted. And he'd lived long enough to know his actions had had good results.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled and closed his eyes. He was content.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	11. Chapter 11

_'It'd taken him too long... He'd been too late... He hadn't made it in time... He'd failed his agent... He'd let Tony down one more time... He'd been too late._ '

Those were the thoughts running through Gibbs' head as he ran towards the fallen form of his friend.

He'd gotten the message from Vance and with his driving, he'd been able to reach the area in a good time; but it'd taken him a little longer to find the perfect place to take a shot at the men who had Tony at gun point.

By the time he was ready to shoot; _and he had gotten ready in record time;_ Tony was already on the ground, on his back. Gibbs' heart had jumped in his throat, but he was highly trained and knew how to calm his breathing down; so he'd aimed and right when Aaron Simmons was about to shoot Tony again, Gibbs had taken the shot.

The criminal had gone down instantly and Gibbs had quickly changed his rifle's direction, shooting another thug and then another. The other two had run away and were out of his sight; so he'd taken his rifle and had run to his car.

He needed to get to Tony.

Once he was seated in the car and was heading towards Tony, he called Vance and reported the situation. To his relief, Vance had said that the medevac was on standby and he'd immediately send it his way, which meant they'd be there in no time.

Tony would be fine.

But once he'd reached the cabin's area, all of those thoughts left him and negative ones filled his head.

Running to Tony's side, he skidded to his knees and forced down the bile in his throat.

Tony's eyes were closed and he looked so damn calm and... _And damn, was that a smile on his face?_

Gibbs clenched his jaw painfully as he reached out and felt Tony's throat. To his utter surprise, _because there was so much blood_ , the younger man was still alive.

He couldn't help himself, his first reaction was laughing out loud. Tony DiNozzo had once again proved how indestructible he was.

Taking his jacket off, he pressed it against Tony's right shoulder which seemed to be bleeding more heavily and pushed against the left shoulder with his left hand.

Looking down at his left, he thought about removing the disgusting body of Simmons off Tony's legs, but then he thought that to do so, he needed to let go of Tony's shoulders, which wasn't an option at that moment.

"DiNozzo? Tony!" He called and pressed harder to elicit some sort of reaction from the younger man.

A few seconds later Tony's eyes fluttered open.

"That's it. Keep your eyes open."

"Gibbs?"

"I'm here. I'm here. Just hang on a bit longer."

Tony smiled tightly. "Thought... Thought I wouldn't get the chance to talk to you again." He said weakly.

"You're stuck with me." Gibbs grunted kindheartedly.

Tony moistened his parched lips. "Those kids."

Gibbs' heart clenched and he looked over his shoulder at the cabin. He knew he should go and check on them; see if they were indeed there and if they were safe for the moment, but he couldn't leave Tony either. Not again. He'd already done that too many times in the past week.

"Boss. Please." Tony made his decision for him. "I'll be here when you come back. Go."

Gibbs closed his eyes briefly. "Don't you dare go anywhere." He pointed his finger at him and ran to the house.

Opening the door with more force than it was needed, Gibbs heard loud screams as he stepped inside. Eyeing the scene before him, he noted that all ten girls were sitting there, some crying, some trying to hide or look smaller, but all pretty much intact. "Don't worry. I'm here to help you. I'm a cop." He reassured them, voice calm and kind. "Is there any more of you girls somewhere else?"

The girls shook their heads.

"How many bad guys?" He needed to know if there were any threats around.

"Five." The answer came from two of the girls as some of the others nodded.

"OK then; stay here and don't move until I come back. You're safe now. Just don't leave this cabin. You hear me?"

He waited till all of them nodded their heads again and then he gave them a smile before closing the door and running back to Tony whose eyes were once again closed.

He quickly resumed putting pressure on Tony's shoulders.

"They alright?" Tony asked, his voice already way weaker than a few minutes earlier.

"They're all safe and sound." Gibbs announced. "You did great, DiNozzo. I'm so proud of you."

Tony smiled tiredly. "Thanks."

"Hey. Open your eyes." Gibbs ordered as Tony's eyes started to close. "I'm sorry." He said, knowing that it'd catch the younger man's attention.

Tony frowned.

"I let you down, again." Gibbs explained dejectedly.

"You saved the day, Boss." Instinctively, Tony tried to downplay the situation, even though, deep down, that was what he wanted to address.

"I was too late. And _you_ are the one who saved the day. You made a sacrifice to save those girls."

"That's our job." Tony stated, because that part wasn't debatable.

"You went above and beyond." Gibbs shook his head. "Back in Vance' office, when I didn't say anything-" he paused. "You know that I didn't mean it like I wouldn't mind trading you for those kids, right?"

Tony was quiet for a second but then he took a shaky breath and said, "It was the right thing to do. We didn't have time to make a plan." He realized that he couldn't voice his real feelings, even when directly addressed. Man, he was damaged goods.

"The trade was never an option. _Never_." Gibbs insisted; realizing that the younger man didn't know that Gibbs had never, not even for a second, thought that those kids' lives were more valuable than that of Tony's. "I just couldn't form any words and my mind had gone blank. You, on the other hand... What you did today, Tony-" Gibbs swallowed.

"Was nothing." Tony repeated solemnly. "It's our job, Gibbs. I'm just glad I could do something right, before -"

"You're not going anywhere." Gibbs growled and pushed harder on the wounds which made Tony wince and groan; at that moment, Gibbs really wished to see a glimpse of Tony the jokester; why did he have to be so serious when Gibbs needed a distraction so bad?

"Gibbs-"

"No. You will not die."

Tony grinned faintly and shook his head.

"I'll never be able to forgive myself, Tony. You have to hang on. For me." Gibbs tried being open and honest when his order didn't work.

Tony's eyes widened slightly. "Gibbs. Not your fault."

Gibbs shook his head.

"Boss. Whatever happens, this won't be your fault. You hear me?" He frowned and tried his hardest to sound stern, even though he didn't have much energy left. " _This_ would've happened, anyway, whether you've fought for me or not."

Gibbs cringed. He hadn't fought; or rather, he hadn't voiced his thoughts. "I should've said something." He said dejectedly. "The silence didn't mean I didn't care or that I didn't mind letting you go. I was shocked." He was uncharacteristically repeating himself, not even realizing he was doing so.

Tony could see that Gibbs' mind was once again elsewhere and apparently, according to Gibbs himself, it was the second time that day; which made it a scary thing. Because Gibbs was always collected, never lost; never shocked. "Gibbs." He called, his voice getting weaker and weaker.

Gibbs ignored his plea and tensed when he heard another sound. "You hear that?" He looked up at the sky when he noticed that it was the helicopter that was getting close. "Help's here. You're going to be fine; just wait a bit longer."

Tony'd lost too much blood already, so he couldn't be so sure. Besides, he was too tired to hang on any longer. "Boss."

Gibbs looked down again and his gaze locked on Tony's.

"Not your fault." Tony said one more time before his eyes closed on their own accord and didn't open again.

"No. Dammit. _No_." Gibbs shook him and pushed harder on his wounds, but that trick didn't work this time and Tony stayed motionless. By that time, the paramedics were around them, trying to evaluate the situation.

Two men sat by Tony's shoulders as one gently moved Aaron's body away from Tony's and checked for a pulse. Simmons was dead.

"Damn. Two more GSWs to the thighs." Said the medic when his eyes landed on the younger agent's upper legs.

Gibbs head snapped towards Tony's legs and he cursed loudly. He could see that the dirtbag had shot to hurt, to make Tony's death slow and painful. He hadn't deserved such a quick death. At that moment, Gibbs wished he'd hit him in the spine instead of the head, so he'd live a long agonizing life. Well, at least his body had put enough pressure on Tony's legs to keep him from bleeding out, because let's face it, there was no way Gibbs, alone, could put pressure on _four_ gunshot wounds.

 _He really had_ been _late_. His tired mind reminded him again.

The younger man had been shot _four_ times, _four_ frigging times, before he'd taken his enemy out and he'd managed to stay alive and talk to him to reassure him that he didn't blame him for any of those things.

Well, that didn't matter; because he blamed himself enough for the two of them.

Tony'd already lost too much blood before he'd even gotten to him. It was no wonder he was fading so fast.

"Is there anyone else in need of our help?" A paramedic asked Gibbs as his teammates attended to Tony; pulling the older man out of his destructive thoughts.

"Yes. There are ten little girls in that cabin. At least one of them has a broken finger." He pointed to the cabin and watched as the paramedic's eyes widened, showing his surprise. The man looked down at the injured agent on the ground, then again at the cabin, probably trying to figure out what had happened there.

"And the others?" He finally asked, looking at four bodies across the field.

"All dead." Gibbs announced. He'd been sure of the two guys he'd shot and on his way to check on the girls, he'd seen the wounds Tony'd inflicted on the other two; they were definitely dead.

That was another miracle Tony had pulled; with so many gunshot wounds and such a heavy blood loss, he still had managed to take out the two bastards who, no doubt, had been heading to the cabin to use the kids to get away from that mess. The younger man had once again saved those little girls.

The paramedic nodded his head and hurried towards the cabin.

Gibbs' phone rang at that moment and he answered it, not caring that his hands were covered in blood; he needed to let Vance know how things were going. He gave the director a brief report and was informed that two teams of NCIS agents, plus two ambulances, which had been on standby, would be there shortly and that if he needed to go with DiNozzo, he could go.

Right on cue, the NCIS SUVs showed up and pulled over and agents stepped out of their vehicles.

McGee and Ziva, who were the first ones out of the cars, quickly took in the scene with wide eyes and ran towards them. "Boss?" Tim shouted his name, but they both came to an abrupt halt when their eyes landed on Tony.

Ziva felt her eyes moistened and McGee, involuntarily, took a step back, his jaw lax with shock. Director Vance had given them a brief report of what'd occurred there, but they weren't prepared to see what they were seeing.

"Secure the scene. I'm going to the hospital with him." Gibbs pushed himself up from the ground when the medics were ready to move Tony to the helicopter. "And make sure those girls in the cabin are alright. Take them all to the Navy Yard. Vance will call their parents."

"Gibbs, will he be alright?" Ziva asked quietly before the older man could jog off after the medics.

Gibbs's eyes were locked on Tony's bloodied form. "He'd better."

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	12. Chapter 12

With what had occurred near the cabin, Ducky and Abby were both knee-deep in work and the only way they could get any information about Tony and his condition was through Gibbs, who'd threatened to turn his phone off if Abby didn't stop calling him every five minutes.

She hadn't seen what had happened; she hadn't seen anything, really; all she knew was that Tony was hurt again and that it was really bad, this time.

Ducky, on the other hand, had gone to the scene to collect the bodies; so he had some ideas about what had happened there and the scene plus the amount of blood on the ground where he guessed Tony must've been lying had rendered him speechless. He was worried for the younger man and he wouldn't say a word but the way he looked at the bodies that he had to dissect, showed how much he despised them and how glad he was they were the ones on the morgue's tables.

So, with everyone busy with the case, Gibbs had been the only one in the hospital's waiting room.

He'd heard through Vance that the reunion between the kids and their parents had gone smoothly and that they, now, had many grateful, happy parents who liked to thank them in person. Vance had of course stalled them and had told them that the agent responsible for saving their children was critically injured and was currently in the hospital which had apparently only added to their gratitude.

But even though Gibbs was happy that those kids were finally safe and that those parents wouldn't go through what _he_ had, he couldn't care less about them and their gratitude, at that moment. All he cared about was his agent, his friend, his family, who was currently on another operating table, fighting for his life. Barely one week after the last time.

He felt like he'd aged ten years during the past week and another ten during the last few hours. He was sure he could never forget the image of Tony that he'd seen through his rifle telescope and later in the field when he'd arrived and had thought that he'd been too late.

Tony'd looked too peaceful and too still. It was like he'd given up on being saved and had made his peace with that. Hell, he had a stupid smile on his face. What does that tell you?

"Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up to see Dr. Spencer coming his way and was about to stand up when the doctor himself sat down.

"Long surgery." The man sighed heavily.

Gibbs just looked at him expectantly, quietly preparing himself for what he might hear next.

"I gotta say, Agent DiNozzo bewilders me. He pulled through the surgery and admittedly, I didn't think he would when he was first brought in. But then again, he'd already once proved how resilient he is, huh?" He paused before starting with his report. "The amount of blood he'd lost is significant and we had a hard time stabilizing him for the surgery. We almost lost him a few times on the table and there's still too much strain on his heart due to blood loss; so we're monitoring it closely."

Gibbs was always considered a man of few words, but even those few words were failing him. He could do nothing but to sit there and listen.

"We took the four bullets out and did our best to repair the damage to the muscles and bones. The rest is mostly up to him."

"Bones?" Gibbs finally found his voice.

"Yes; the bullet to his right shoulder had moved and torn the muscles in that area, but it hadn't touched the bone; the one to the left side of his upper chest, though, has fractured his shoulder blade which I suspect is because the shoulder was already weak because of the dislocation we've set earlier this week. The bullet to his right thigh hasn't done much damage; it was fairly easy to treat and should heal quickly and nicely but his left femur was hit and broken by the last bullet and we had to use pins to set it. He's going to need lots of PT for that leg."

 _PT? They could do with PT. As long as Tony was alive to do it and as long as he'd recover fully._ Gibbs thought with himself.

"He's also done some damage to his left arm that was broken last week; we had to open his arm to repair it. But it should heal nicely in time."

"He going to be alright?"

"Did you catch the guy who started this? I mean does Agent DiNozzo need to get involved in another fight in a few days?" The Doctor asked in return.

Gibbs frowned. "No. We got the gang."

"Then I believe Agent DiNozzo will make a full recovery." Dr. Spencer finally smiled. "Our only concern at the moment is his heart, but we're monitoring it and he's stable; so I'm cautiously optimistic. Barring any complication he should be fine. Well, it sure would take time, but with what I've already seen from Agent DiNozzo, I doubt any injury would keep him down for too long."

Gibbs smiled his first real smile in days and thanked the other man.

He'd been given another chance. All of them had been lucky one more time. Tony'd be back.

...

Despite what Gibbs had hoped, Tony remained unconscious for the rest of that day, and Gibbs, eventually, had been forced to leave his side to go to the Navy Yard to write his reports and close the case completely.

But, at least, Abby had shown up and knowing that Tony wouldn't be alone, Gibbs had left the upset and babbling Lab Tech. with his unconscious agent.

He couldn't blame Abby for being so upset and shedding a few tears. He'd do the same if he was the type. Tony looked awful and for a second, when he'd first seen him after the surgery, he'd wondered whether the SFA had looked better out there in the field; he was less grey there; and in the field, Tony's condition had been so grave that it'd almost brought tears to Gibbs' eyes.

.

Once Gibbs left, Abby sat there, with Tony's right hand in hers and talked and talked; because A) it was her defense mechanism and B) she thought this way Tony'd know he wasn't alone and wouldn't take forever to wake up because Tony was a gentleman and he knew better than to keep people waiting.

She had lost track of time when the door to the private ICU room opened and she was surprised to see Director Vance walking in. Looking at him and the paper bag in his hand, Abby figured it was time to go get a Caf-Pow; so she kissed Tony's cheek and quietly walked out.

Vance approached the bed and studied the unconscious man in it, silently thanking God that he was going to live.

During the whole thing, DiNozzo seemed to be way more collected than any other agents he'd seen in his time. It was obvious that Anthony DiNozzo knew what he was doing and under no amount of pressure he'd lose his head and that was something that they didn't see in many agents, these days.

He still did prefer an agency full of computer experts, but he had to admit that probably _none_ of those computer-smart agents could do what DiNozzo had done in the last few days.  
DiNozzo had proved to be worthy of the praise Gibbs kept giving him behind his back and it was now clear to Vance why he'd get job offers so regularly. There had been times when he'd wished DiNozzo would take one of those offers and just leave, but right now he was damn glad his wish hadn't been granted. His agency was a better place with DiNozzo there and if those other agencies wanted the younger man, it meant they envied NCIS for having him.

Apart from those almost selfish reasons, Vance was really happy that DiNozzo had survived, because he had a new found respect for the man in the bed and was glad that he'd been given the chance to somehow show it to him.

After listening to Gibbs' verbal report of the event and hearing the story from some of the kids who'd been brave enough to watch the whole thing from the window of the cabin, he was proud of his agent and he was proud to have him around.

Parents of those kids were all in awe and couldn't believe what they were hearing; hell, _he_ had a hard time believing them and if it hadn't been for the fact that what the kids were saying matched the parts Gibbs had witnessed, then he probably would've thought they were exaggerating.

According to those kids, DiNozzo had stoically stood there and took bullets without showing so much as a frown. One of the kids had said that at some point, he'd been even smiling and that made Vance wish that someone had heard the conversation between DiNozzo and Simmons, too.

Another one of the kids had gone on and on about how he had stayed on his feet with three bullets in his body and that he'd only dropped down when he was shot in both legs.

You'd think that those kids should be traumatized and scared and speechless, but kids these days... They didn't _know_ fear. They were looking at the whole thing like a curious adventure and every single one of them was thinking of Anthony DiNozzo as her ultimate hero. Vance had even heard one of them telling her parents that she was going to marry Tony when she was old enough.

That was partly why he was there, at that moment. Of course, he'd stop by to visit DiNozzo, anyway and would congratulate him for a job well done; but an hour earlier, one of the parents had shown up at the Navy Yard, handing him a paper bag full of cards, with childish handwriting, wishing Agent DiNozzo a quick recovery. There were ' _Thank You'_ cards from the parents and _You're My Hero_ 's and _I love You_ 's from the kids.

Vance had taken the bag and had come straight to the hospital.

DiNozzo was still out of it, but he'd wake up soon and Vance thought that if he opened his eyes and saw those cards, he'd know how grateful everyone was for the sacrifice he'd made. So he pulled out the cards, put them on every surface he could find; wished the unconscious agent a quick recovery and quietly left.

He needed to go back to his office to add a few commendations to DiNozzo's file; and he needed to make it publicly known that his agency had successfully brought down a dangerous arm dealer, thanks to the competency of two of his best agents.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	13. Chapter 13

"Open your eyes, DiNozzo." Gibbs said with a gruff voice, watching as for the umpteenth time in the last two days Tony's eyes fluttered for a few seconds and then closed again. He'd spent the last two nights in that chair beside Tony's bed and although it wasn't cozy at all, the sleep he'd gotten there had been the best in the last few days.

"Hey. Enough with sleeping. We've got work to do." He repeated when Tony ignored his first command.

Finally, Tony's eyes blinked open and stayed on him.

Gibbs gave him a mock glare. "About time."

Tony frowned.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Tir'd." Tony murmured.

They've been told that with the amount of blood Tony'd lost and the painkillers in his system he'd be tired and sleepy for a while, but Gibbs needed to make sure he was OK and he couldn't do that unless he talked to the younger man.

"I know. But you need to relearn how to stay awake sometime."

"Relearn?"

"You've been more asleep than awake in the last two days."

"Huh."

 _'Seriously? He was going to be the talkative one between the two of them?'_ That was new to Gibbs. "How you feeling?"

"Tir'd." Tony repeated and started to close his eyes when Gibbs slapped him gently over the head. "Boss." He whined.

"I'm bored." Gibbs said uncharacteristically.

Tony's eyebrows shot up and one side of his mouth quirked up a notch.

The Lead Agent just smiled slightly in return.

Tony yawned and stretched his body a little but stopped when every inch of his body protested with pain. "Great." He growled.

"Yeah, you won't be able to do that for a while." The older agent almost winced in sympathy.

"So, what's the damage?" He finally sounded awake and coherent enough.

"No permanent damage." Gibbs reassured quickly, knowing that even though Tony hadn't asked about it directly, it'd been his biggest fear. "You're gonna have to spend some time in a wheelchair, though."

Tony then remembered getting shot in the legs _and_ shoulders and shuddered involuntarily. "Great."

"You said that already." Gibbs pointed out.

"At least my kneecap is intact." Tony sighed with relief. "Thanks for that, by the way. He was about to shoot me in the knee when you took him down." He was a little bewildered at how clearly he was remembering everything; normally, it'd take him some time to recall every detail.

Gibbs' eyes darkened and Tony had worked with him too long not to notice it.

"Boss?"

"I was too late."

"Am I dead?" Tony asked a little too calmly. "Because it hurts too much for that to be the case and if I'm not dead, then you couldn't have been too late."

"I was late enough." Gibbs just omitted the word ' _too_ '; because yes, thank God, he at least hadn't been _too_ late.

"Maybe just a little bit." Tony conceded with a touch of humor in his voice. "I wouldn't mind not getting shot over and over again."

Gibbs felt his heart clenching in his chest as the image of Tony's bullet riddled body assaulted his memory again.

"But I also know you did your best. So, let's just say you were _fast enough_." The Ex-cop smiled gratefully.

"I owe you an apology." Gibbs sighed.

"We went through that in that field, Gibbs. It was _not_ your fault."

"Tony-"

"Please don't make me sound like a broken record, Boss." Tony whined, but it was clear he was trying to reassure his mentor that they were good; he could remember Gibbs' words and had been reassured that his life in fact meant something to the older man, even though he was still a bit hurt over the whole thing.

"Back in Vance's office, I was having a hard time controlling my anger and staying in the present." Gibbs ignored Tony's request of changing the subject, knowing that if it was up to Tony, he'd hide behind his masks and keep his feelings under a lid. Gibbs felt he had to show his protégé that he was sorry for not showing him how much he mattered to him. "I never thought it right to let you walk into that trap without backup." He repeated for good measure.

"Yeah, well, we do what we gotta do." Tony said quietly.

"Had you not come back, many people would've been devastated; including me. Glad you're gonna be OK." Gibbs confessed in a rare moment of openness. "You did great."

"Thanks." Tony's throat tightened and he averted his gaze to the IV tape in the crook of his elbow. "Those kids alright?" He decided to change the subject, feeling like he'd heard enough to know Gibbs meant what he'd said.

"Take a look around." Gibbs grinned slightly and genuinely. "That good enough for you?"

Tony looked around and for the first time noticed the cards and paintings around him and felt all warm inside.

"You've got some new admirers." Gibbs announced.

Tony grinned with amusement; it was great to know all those kids were safe and back with their families.

"You should've seen Vance's face when he was telling me what he'd heard from those kids."

"What's he heard?" Tony's smile fell from his face as he frowned, hoping he was wrong with his assumption.

"Apparently some of them have seen the whole thing from the cabin's window."

Tony's eyes widened with horror; well, he clearly hadn't assumed wrong. "What? And you're OK with it?"

"Hey, calm down. They're surprisingly all fine. Their hero is alive and apparently that's all they care about."

Tony didn't look convinced, if anything, he looked more distraught and totally upset. He didn't want those kids to be traumatized for the rest of their lives for something that had happened in _his_ past.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs read the look on Tony's face and called his name firmly. "You saved them. Don't ever forget that. You hear me?"

"But, Gibbs, can you imagine what they'd dream about now? They are just kids and like it wasn't bad enough that they were held at gunpoint, they've also witnessed someone getting shot before their eyes over and over again."

"They. Are. Alright." Gibbs repeated slowly, forcing Tony to see the truth behind those words. "Thanks to you. I'm telling you, they might be a little distressed, but they're fine. What they remember from that day is different from how _you_ have seen it. They saw a good guy, _a knight_ ," he smirked slightly, "who came to their rescue and took bullets without even a flinch. They saw a hero taking down the bad guys that had wanted to hurt them. Stop beating yourself up. _You_ are that hero and you deserved that title."

Gibbs'd never praise someone so much with so many words all at once, but this hadn't been a normal case and he knew Tony didn't see what he'd done praiseworthy; so he wanted to at least make him stop berating himself.

"They're gonna show up here to visit you later; so, be prepared."

"No," Tony looked horrified. "Please, Boss."

Gibbs grinned. "They won't bite."

"Gibbs." Tony repeated desperately. "No." The look in his eyes told the older man that it wasn't his usual fear of kids. It was more than that. "I can't."

Gibbs studied him for a few moments and finally nodded. "Alright. Calm down. I'll make sure nobody shows up here. But you have to face them at some point. Those grateful parents won't go away."

"Do those _'grateful parents'_ know that their kids wouldn't get captured in the first place if we'd taken Simmons down all those years ago?" Tony asked dejectedly. "And they send cards." He said bitterly. "Why did you accept them?"

"First of all, _Vance_ accepted them, which only means he and I agree on the fact that you _do_ deserve the recognition."

"I just did my _job_." Tony gritted out.

Ignoring him, Gibbs continued, "And no, those parents don't know the whole story, but they know that an arm dealer had taken their kids and would've killed them in cold blood had it not been for you." Gibbs stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. "And if anything, it's _my_ fault their children were taken. We both know why Simmons chose those girls." Now _he_ sounded like he had a heavy weight on his shoulders; apparently he was still blaming himself for the whole thing and despite his reassuring words, he hadn't forgiven himself for what those kids had experienced.

Tony winced. "Damn. Sorry, Boss. Didn't mean anything by it."

Gibbs sighed. "Just stop berating yourself; alright? It was a win for us. See it as one."

Tony was silent; not ready to see what those little kids had been through as a win for himself; not ready to forgive himself for the whole thing, even though the rational part of his brain kept reminding him that he had no control over what'd happened.

"You ready to at least visit everyone else?"

"Huh?" Tony blinked in confusion.

"They all have stopped by; even Vance. But I don't think you've been awake for any of those visits."

No. Apparently he hadn't; because he couldn't remember visiting anyone. In fact, he couldn't remember anything after passing out in the field.

"Umm, sure. Yeah." He tried to sound cheerful and happy to see the others.

Gibbs understood his discomfort, though. "I'll make sure Abby is there whenever Tim and Ziva visit. That good enough for you?"

Tony felt strangely warm inside, knowing Gibbs really had his back this time; because despite everything, he still hadn't gotten over what his teammates had done to him over a week ago. He didn't think things would ever be the same between them again and he knew if those two visited him alone, an awkward silence would fall upon them and he couldn't bring himself to break it. He didn't have anything to say to those two. At least, with Abby around, he'd have some distraction and hopefully, after a while, they'd eventually understand that he meant it when he said they weren't friends anymore and that he'd remain extremely professional around them from then on. He just hoped getting all professional would change things for the better.

"One more thing; you're going to stay at my place, again." Gibbs smirked, sounding like he was enjoying the situation too much.

Tony looked at him sharply and gulped. "I have a perfectly fine elevator in my building." He tried to reason.

"And some stairs before that said elevator and even one step _inside_ your apartment."

" _Your_ place has stairs, too." Tony pointed out.

"Not from the back door. Besides, you're gonna need a hand to do things, for a while."

Tony felt like he was doomed.

"Hey, what's wrong with my place?" Gibbs asked gruffly.

"It's _your_ place." Tony sighed.

Gibbs blinked. What was that supposed to mean? "Tony." He said and waited till the younger man looked at him. "I know I've been a bigger bastard lately, but you're _always_ welcome in my place. And I'm trying to make it up to you. Not just for this week, but for the... For the last few months? Years?" He sighed. "Let me."

Tony closed his eyes and turned his head away. "It's not that, Boss. You don't need to make up for anything."

"I let you down more than once this week; that alone merits some making up. But-" He took a deep breath. "But I don't want you to think that you're not welcome anymore in my house or that I don't give a shit about you. You're family, Tony. You're even more than that." His voice was quiet when he said the last two sentences. "I never meant to make it feel otherwise. You come to my place and maybe we can amend a few things."

Tony studied him carefully. Gibbs meant a lot to him and he knew confessing those feelings couldn't have been easy for the other man. He just didn't want to force his way into the older man's life and he said that to his boss.

"Force your way?" Gibbs sounded baffled. "DiNozzo, I'm literally asking you to come to my place and I've never done that for anyone before."

"No. Not that. Dammit, Gibbs. You know what I mean." Tony sighed.

"Listen, DiNozzo. I've screwed up. But no one and nothing can ever replace you in my... life." He finally admitted how he saw the younger man as a son and he held Tony's gaze to show his sincerity. "You have a place in my life, whether you are there or not."

"Thanks." Tony looked away again. "It's... I-"

"I know." Gibbs smiled. He knew sometimes it was harder for Tony to talk about his feelings than it was for him. At least he'd had some practice; _Tony_ 'd always just hidden everything.

"So?"

He had to stay with his boss, apparently, but he knew he wouldn't instantly share everything with Gibbs because of that. He probably would always remain a little more guarded around the older man; but if Gibbs was trying to fix things, he wouldn't act like a brat and push him away. After all, he really didn't mind a less gruff and angry Gibbs; it'd make his life much easier.

"Boss, it's not like I have a choice." He finally groaned.

"No. You don't."

"Are you going to get my report or what?"

"It can wait. I'm pretty sure you won't forget it anytime soon."

Tony snorted. "No. I don't think I will." He then yawned and despite his effort he winced when his shoulders pulled.

"Go back to sleep."

"You sure? I've never seen you bored before. Don't wanna know what'd happen if you get bored, again." Tony grinned.

"I can stand it for a couple of hours."

"Good to know." Tony chuckled and drifted off.

It didn't take him long to be completely out and Gibbs wondered how he'd stayed awake long enough to hold such a long conversation. He shook his head. With DiNozzo, it was sheer willpower that did everything; even coming back from certain death, which he was grateful for. And against his usual gruff persona or not, he wanted to show it to his SFA.

During the years, the younger man had changed a lot and he knew that the only reason he still had stayed with him and on his team was because he was loyal and didn't want to leave his boss behind which made Gibbs' chest swell with pride, and he felt honored for being the target of such loyalty and trust.

Now, only if he could regain that trust in personal levels... _That_ was the hard part. He knew he had his work cut out for him, but well, he wasn't one to give up. That was for sure and even if the younger man decided that he wanted to keep his distance, he'd make sure that he knew his boss was still there for him.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOC Gibbs, again and after this last season, I find him even too OOC here in my own story! But what can I say; the Gibbs from the show has become just... Too much! And I just wanted him to act like a human again, or well, treat Tony like one! That's what fictions are for, right?


	14. Chapter 14

The first day Anthony DiNozzo finally got back to work was a day to remember.

The Senior Field Agent hadn't seen his two junior agents during the whole time of his recovery and even though Gibbs was angry about it, Tony was glad, because the one time that they _had_ shown up at the hospital had been awkward enough that he knew he didn't have energy for another such visit.

They didn't have anything to say to each other; well, _Tony_ didn't have anything to say to them and if it wasn't for Abby chattering the whole 30 minutes that they were there and engaging Tony in the conversation, Tony would've feigned sleep, so that they'd just leave him alone.

Of course, both McGee and Ziva had tried to goad Tony into a banter, _after_ claiming that they were very happy that he was alright; but Tony had kept his solemn persona up and his answers had been mostly restricted to nods or yes and nos and would glare when they were getting out of line. That had quickly brought an end to their attempt at levity and had fortunately silenced them.

Tony could see that Ziva was seething with anger and McGee looked unsure, upset and a bit angry at the same time. But apparently they'd been warned by Gibbs, or maybe they were merely not sure how to deal with him when he was like this, because they didn't voice their thoughts and both let Abby take control of the situation.

So, the first day back to work after such a long time would've been even more extraordinary, had Tony been his old self around his teammates. But, no. He was still distant and all business; so, aside from a very ordinary greeting, _as if he'd been back just from a lunch break;_ he said nothing else to neither Ziva nor McGee.

What hurt the junior agents the most was the fact that Tony still did smile and joke with agents from other teams who stopped by to welcome him back and he still laughed when Abby jumped into his arm just as he was sitting behind his desk.

Nobody could say that Tony was quiet because the last case had affected him too much because it was clear that nobody but those two was getting the silent treatment.

.

The bullpen was once again quiet as Tony tried to catch up with everything and the others, minus Gibbs, who'd gone to get another coffee, worked on whatever they had in hand when Ziva couldn't take it anymore.

"So, Tony-" She dropped all pretense and stared right at Tony with a smirk at the corner of her mouth. "We never found the chance to talk about that day."

Even though Tony knew what day she was referring to, he didn't show anything on the outside. "What day?" He said without looking up from the papers in front of him.

Rolling her eyes, she sneered, "The day Gibbs, once again, came to your rescue and cleaned up your mess. I cannot believe those parents were thinking _you_ were the hero while it was actually you who had screwed up in the first place." She said smugly and smiled triumphantly when a quick look of hurt crossed Tony's face. "I guess Gibbs and Vance took pity on you and decided to let you have the..." She paused and searched her mind for the right word, " _take_ the credit, right?"

McGee looked at them with open interest, but didn't say anything, waiting to see how Tony would react.

"I don't see how that is _your_ business, Agent David." Tony still wouldn't look up and jotted down something on the paper before him.

"You could have gotten all those girls killed with your... What is it called? Hero-complex? Yes, that must be it." She looked at McGee for affirmation, but got nothing except for a surprised look from him.

Tony finally looked up from his work. Slowly, he stood up from his chair and walked to Ziva's desk. "Listen to me, and listen good, David, because this is the last time I'm repeating this; next time, you'll be out of here for insubordination and believe me, I can do that now. Gibbs will back me up." He said and hoped that he was right. "You. Have. No. Right. To talk to your superior like that. Your job here is to investigate the case that is handed to you, listen to your superiors, obey their orders and keep your stupid opinions to yourself. If we need your output, we'll ask for it. And, I. Am. Your. Superior. Behave or get out." The only sign that showed Tony was furious was the look in his eyes. His voice was firm and steely, filled with a quiet authority that honestly, was way scarier than a shout of anger. It was clear that he'd meant every single word and Ziva, who'd only seen that look on Tony's face a couple of times during the years, felt a bit threatened.

Before she could open her mouth to dig her grave deeper, though, Gibbs and Vance appeared behind Tony and she was sure they were going to put him in his place; so she smirked and crossed her arms in front of her chest; but she was surprised when Tony just turned around coolly and walked to his own desk again, not looking surprised at seeing Gibbs and the Director. Apparently he knew they were there.

"Agent David, I do not tolerate insubordination here. As valuable as you are to this agency, there are many other agents who can do your job better and they know what chain of command means. This will be your last warning as Agent DiNozzo said; another reprimand will be added to your file, as well. You better get your act together if you want to stay here." Vance's words startled Ziva; she couldn't believe that out of all the people there, it was Vance who was supporting Tony like that.

"Agent DiNozzo made a huge sacrifice that day and he kept his head which resulted in saving all those kids. Unfortunately, I can't say you or anyone else could easily manage to do what he did, you especially, since you seem to like to jump into action headfirst and act like you're a one-man team all the time." The Director added firmly before turning his head around to look at Tony, who appeared to be engrossed in his own work. "Agent DiNozzo." He called out and waited for Tony to look up. "Congratulation on a job well-done. We're proud to have you here." He said curtly, but loudly, wanting everyone around them to hear how he felt about the whole situation. He noticed how both McGee and Ziva looked surprised with their jaw dropped open. _'Good',_ he thought, sometimes, it was needed to set a few people straight. He couldn't let things get out of hand because of petty rivalry.

Tony nodded and said, "Thank you, Sir, but I just did my job."

"Then, I wish everyone here would do their jobs the way you do." He said pointedly before walking off.

Gibbs had a smirk on his face which disappeared the moment his eyes landed on the shook-up Ziva. "For your information, the reason those girls were taken was that Simmons had a grudge against _me_. Guess that makes _me_ the one who screwed up in the first place, huh?" He said icily, using Ziva's own words to deliver the hit. "If it hadn't been for DiNozzo, they all would probably be dead now and it'd be on my conscience."

Ziva visibly paled this time; she'd never meant to hurt Gibbs. "Gibbs, I did not-"

"Can it." Gibbs growled and walked to Tony's desk to put a cup of coffee in front of his SFA. "You two better learn quickly how to respect your superior agents or I'll have DiNozzo look for new agents. That clear?"

McGee gulped before quickly saying, "Yes, Boss."

For the first time in years, he actually felt his position on the team wasn't secure and that scared him, because he actually loved his job and... And his teammates. He didn't want to lose the people who'd had his back, on so many levels, for so many years, including Tony. He knew it was too little too late to fix his mistakes, but he hoped with time he could prove that he wasn't all that disrespectful.

Ziva's tone was more clipped and strained when she muttered her ' _Yes_ '; but she, too, had realized that she couldn't do whatever she wished, anymore. Not with both Vance and Gibbs backing Tony up. She sighed and moved her chair a little to the side to hide her face behind her monitor, so she could sulk privately.

Gibbs send Tony a look that would say, ' _I meant it when I said I have your back'._

Tony grabbed his coffee and took a long sip, nodding his head towards his boss.

Well, at least working would be easier from then on; it probably wouldn't be as much fun as it used to be, but at least it was safer. He just wished personal issues could get fixed as easily; but sadly it wasn't the case. Unfortunately, he and Gibbs had a long way to go and in all honesty, he didn't think he could ever open up to his Boss the way he used to. But at least he knew, for now, Gibbs actually had his back and would show more respect to him and his position on the team.

That was a good start.

**.**

**.**

**... The END ...**


End file.
